Bail – Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 – ss.8(c), 21(c), 23(c), 29 – Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 – ss.17, 18, 22C – Penal Code, 1860 – s.120B – Crossborder smuggling of narcotics – Seizure of 2,988.21 kg heroinlaced talc stones imported into India through Gujarat, under the cover of commercial consignments, allegedly originating from Afghanistan and routed through Iran – Appellant allegedly played a central and coordinating role in its facilitation – Bail denied:
Held: Appellant’s alleged meetings in Dubai with a principal foreign accused; the transfer of documents through intermediaries for the clearance of a flagged consignment; efforts to retrospectively fabricate invoices and assign responsibility to others; use of multiple firms allegedly connected to him to obfuscate the true nature of the transactions; and his telephonic calls to certain coconspirators, supported by the statements of protected witnesses and circumstantial linkages, meet the threshold of prima facie satisfaction regarding the appellant’s complicity – Prosecution claims that the seizure in the connected consignment is part of the largest heroin bust in Indian history – Trial is ongoing before the NIA Court and is at the stage of examination of Prosecution witnesses – Multiple key witnesses are yet to be examined – Out of 24 most vulnerable or material witnesses, two have died and two others are untraceable – The risk of witness tampering or elimination militates against the grant of bail at this stage – Also, in view of the appellant’s prior conduct and profile there is a possibility of flight risk – Appellant not entitled to regular bail at this stage. [Paras 27, 29, 30, 32, 35]
Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 – s.43D(5) – Scope and application – Constitution of India – Article 21 – Discussed. [Paras 23, 24]
As published in the Supreme Court Reports, Supreme Court of India. Headnotes prepared by: Divya Pandey. Text from the Indian Supreme Court Judgments open data set (Dattam Labs), CC BY 4.0.
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