AI OCR 
TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2024 (4) TMI 1191
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....been in custody since 27.09.2020 and that he was arrested on the disclosure statement of co-accused namely Ranjay Kumar Jha @ Sonu. He submits that co-accused persons namely Nasruddin, Vijay and Ranjay Kumar have already been released on bail. He further states that necessary recoveries have already been effected and there is no apprehension of the applicant evading trial or tampering with evidence/influencing witnesses. He also submits that the prosecution has cited as many as 37 witnesses and out of them only 2 witnesses have been examined till date and thus, the trial is likely to take a long time. In support of the same, reliance has been placed upon the decision of Supreme Court in Tinku Tagadgiri v. State of Odisha passed in SLP(Crl.)....
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....ned counsel for the parties and have also perused the material placed on record. 6. In the present matter, it has been alleged that 143 kgs of Gaanja has been recovered from the car being driven by the applicant. The bail application is resisted on the ground that the said amount recovered from the car of the applicant, qualifies as commercial quantity and thus the rigorous of the Section 37 NDPS Act are applicable in the present case. 7. The prime contention raised by learned counsel for the petitioner is that till date only 2 out of the 37 witnesses have been examined and that the trial is likely to take a long time. It is further submitted that the applicant is not found involved in any other case. 8. For appreciation of the said cont....
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....nsure the protection of innocent civilians. xxx 15. This Court has clarified in numerous judgments that the liberty guaranteed by Part III of the Constitution would cover within its protective ambit not only due procedure and fairness but also access to justice and a speedy trial. In Supreme Court Legal Aid Committee (Representing Undertrial Prisoners v. Union of India, it was held that undertrials cannot indefinitely be detained pending trial. Ideally, no person ought to suffer adverse consequences of his acts unless the same is established before a neutral arbiter. However, owing to the practicalities of real life where to secure an effective trial and to ameliorate the risk to society in case a potential criminal is left at large p....
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....as under:- "xxx 3. Though it is a case of commercial quantity and allegations levelled against the petitioner are serious in nature, but having regard to the fact that he is in custody for 2 years and conclusion of trial will take time, we are inclined to release the petitioner on bail. 4. The petitioner is, accordingly, ordered to be released on bail, subject to his furnishing bail bonds to the satisfaction of trial court. xxx" 11. Again in Rabi Prakash v. State of Odisha (Supra), where the accused had remained incarcerated for more than three and a half years, the Supreme Court while releasing the applicant on bail observed that:- "xxx 4... The prolonged incarceration, generally militates against the most precious fundam....
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..... Positive reference in this regard may be made the decision in Sachin Arora v. State Govt. of NCT of Delhi (2023:DHC:5808) and Vishwajeet Singh v. State (NCT of Delhi) (2024:DHC: 1554). 14. In view of the discussion undertaken above, it is clear that even in situations wherein commercial quantity has been recovered from the accused, the said individual has been granted the benefit of bail, while considering of the period of incarceration as well as the fact that the trial is likely to take some time in a case. 15. Considering the aforesaid factual and legal position especially the fact that the applicant has been in custody for about 3 and a half years as also the fact that only 2 witnesses have been examined so far, the applicant is di....