Purba Sherpa vs State of Himachal Pradesh

Headnote AI-drafted · Reviewed and approved

The petitioner, Purba Sherpa, sought regular bail under Section 483 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, arising out of FIR No. 72 of 2023 registered at Police Station Bhunter, District Kullu, Himachal Pradesh, for an offence under Section 20 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985. The petitioner had been in custody since 26 April 2023 following recovery of approximately 4.04 kg of Cannabis/Charas from him after a police nakka was laid based on prior information.

The petitioner contended that he was innocent, that no incriminating material was recovered from him, and raised a procedural discrepancy regarding the Inventory prepared under Section 52-A of the NDPS Act, which bore a date of seizure of 19 December 2022 whereas the FIR was registered on 26 April 2023. The State, in its Status Report, maintained that the recovery was effected in accordance with the codal formalities, that the FSL report confirmed the substance to be Cannabis/Charas, and that the Challan had been filed before the District Judge, Kullu on 28 July 2023, with trial proceedings underway.

The Court examined the statutory provisions under Section 20 of the NDPS Act, noting the graduated punishment structure for small, intermediate, and commercial quantities, and proceeded to consider the parameters for grant of bail as laid down by the Supreme Court and the mandate of the BNSS, with the judgment being approved for reporting.

Catchwords: bail · NDPS Act · cannabis · charas · commercial quantity · Section 20 NDPS Act · Section 52-A NDPS Act · Section 483 BNSS · narcotic drugs · inventory discrepancy · regular bail · Himachal Pradesh