Gravity Alone Cannot Be Decisive Ground To Deny Bail : HP HC [Read Judgment]
Himachal Pradesh High court has said that "Gravity alone cannot be decisive ground to deny bail, rather competing factors are required to be balanced by the court while exercising its discretion." Justice Sandeep Sharma, while granting bail to one Harish Kumar who was arrested under the NDPS Act on a personal bond of RS 2 lakh said "Object of the bail is to secure the presence of...
Himachal Pradesh High court has said that "Gravity alone cannot be decisive ground to deny bail, rather competing factors are required to be balanced by the court while exercising its discretion."
Justice Sandeep Sharma, while granting bail to one Harish Kumar who was arrested under the NDPS Act on a personal bond of RS 2 lakh said "Object of the bail is to secure the presence of the accused in the trial and proper test to be applied in the solution of the question whether bail should be granted or refused is whether it is probable that the party will appear to take its trial. Otherwise also, normal rule is of bail and not jail. Apart from above, Court has to keep in mind nature of accusations, nature of evidence in support thereof, severity of the punishment, which conviction will entail, character of the accused, circumstances which are peculiar to the accused involved in that crime."
Case background.
On 24.7.2019, Police patrolling party apprehended bail petitioner, who allegedly after having seen Police, threw his bag on the side of the road, and recovered 157 strips of Lomotil (9420 tablets). Since the bail petitioner failed to produce valid licence/permit, if any, to keep aforesaid drugs, Police, after completion of necessary codal formalities, registered case under S.21 of the Act against the bail petitioner on 24.7.2019 and, since then, bail petitioner is behind the bars.
Advocate Divya Raj Singh argued for petitioner:
Drug namely Lomotil does not fall within the definition of 'manufactured drug' as contained under S.2(xi) of the Act.
Court said :
Leaving everything aside, this Court finds that the investigation in the case is complete and Challan has been filed in the competent Court of law. Since nothing remains to be recovered from the bail petitioner, no fruitful purpose would be served by keeping him behind the bars for an indefinite period especially when he has already suffered for approximately four months.
Further it added that "Guilt, if any, of the bail petitioner is yet to be determined in the totality of the evidence collected on record by the prosecution and it would not be fair to let bail petitioner incarcerate in jail for an indefinite period during trial."