The Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh High Court has granted bail to an accused in a 2018 case involving the seizure of over 50 kg of heroin, noting that the recovery was not made from him as he was already lodged in jail at the time.
Justice Rajesh Sekhri, in an order pronounced on October 10, said that while Gurjit Singh (truck driver) and Ravi Kumar (conductor) of the seized truck were charged, the applicant, Ravinder Singh, had earlier been discharged by the trial court on May 3, 2019. The discharge was granted on the ground that apart from statements made by the co-accused, there was no other material linking him to the case.
However, following an appeal by the Union of India, the high court on July 3, 2024, set aside the discharge order and directed the trial court to frame charges against Ravinder Singh and proceed with the case. Acting on that order, the trial court framed charges against him on January 10, 2025. He was subsequently arrested by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) on April 3.
Seeking bail, the applicant said his custody had never been sought by the NCB after the discharge was set aside. He had voluntarily surrendered before the trial court and stated he did not wish to cross-examine witnesses already examined. He argued that none of the witnesses had said anything adverse against him, the trial was nearing completion, and he was implicated solely on the basis of statements of co-accused under Section 67 of the NDPS Act, recorded while they were in police custody.
According to the prosecution, the SHO of Bahu Fort Police Station, Jammu, lodged a complaint with the NCB on August 6, 2018, about a narcotics consignment being transported in a truck (JK02AD-3965). A joint team of the NCB and Bahu Fort police laid a naka at Rajeev Nagar Chowk, Narwal Bypass, and intercepted the truck around 1 pm. The driver and conductor identified themselves as Gurjit Singh and Ravi Kumar and disclosed that heroin was hidden in a false cavity in the truck’s cabin.
A total of 51 packets of heroin, weighing 50.3 kg, were seized, and both were arrested. During investigation, Gurjit Singh, in his statement under Section 67 of the NDPS Act, alleged that the consignment was being transported on the instructions of Ravinder Singh, then lodged in Kot Bhalwal Central Jail, Jammu.
The prosecution claimed Gurjit Singh had been in constant touch with Ravinder Singh and had visited him in jail several times between May 17 and July 12, 2018. Investigators collected evidence from jail authorities and obtained call detail records showing a mobile phone used from the jail, allegedly by Ravinder Singh, to coordinate the transaction.
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Granting bail, Justice Sekhri cited the Supreme Court’s 2021 judgment in Tofan Singh vs State of Tamil Nadu, which held that confessional statements recorded by officers empowered under Section 53 of the NDPS Act cannot be used to convict an accused.
The court directed Ravinder Singh’s release on a bail bond of Rs 1 lakh and a personal bond of the same amount, subject to conditions that he not commit a similar offence, tamper with evidence, or leave jurisdiction without the trial court’s permission. Violation of these conditions would lead to forfeiture of bail, the court said, clarifying that the order should not be seen as an opinion on the merits of the case.
