Mumbai: The Bombay High Court has rejected the bail plea of Arbaz Aslam Shaikh, arrested with 100 grams of Mephedrone (MD), holding that the stringent conditions under Section 37 of the NDPS Act were not fulfilled.
Shaikh approached the HC seeking bail in case registered by the Anti-Narcotics Cell of the Azad Maidan Unit, under various sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act. He has been in custody since November 3, 2023.
On November 2, 2023, ANC officials on patrol noticed a man behaving suspiciously near the Jogeshwari Police Station bus stop. When questioned, he tried to flee on a two-wheeler. The police intercepted him and recovered 100g MD. He identified himself as Hardik Chandubhai Solanki.
Solanki disclosed that he supplied drugs on a two-wheeler and that one Adam was his source. Fearing Adam might abscond, police immediately followed up. Solanki led them to a key-maker’s shop from where Adam allegedly operated. A trap was laid, Adam was apprehended, and after mandatory NDPS procedures, he named Shaikh as his supplier.
Police then went to Shaikh’s residence in Kalina. He attempted to run but was caught. A search allegedly yielded another 100g MD from his kurta pocket. A later house search recovered Rs15 lakh cash and 100 zip-lock packets.
His earlier bail plea was rejected by the Special NDPS Court on September 19, 2024.
His advocate, Khan Sherali Shakhibgul, argued that Section 42 of the NDPS Act was violated as the police failed to record Adam’s information in writing and forward it to a superior. He pointed to a three-hour delay in the FIR, a five-day delay in the inventory panchanama. He also contended that Shaikh has been in long incarceration with charges yet to be framed.
State advocate Megha Bajoria opposed the plea contending that the operation was a chance recovery during patrolling. Real-time disclosures during an ongoing operation were not “prior information.” She maintained that no prejudice arose from alleged procedural delays. The recovery of commercial quantity MD, cash and packing material indicated active trafficking, she said.
Justice Neela Gokhale held that the contraband was recovered from Shaikh’s person and additional incriminating material from his house. Also, the court noted that the police were on patrol.
“Reasonable grounds are not available for believing that the accused is not guilty of the offences that he has been charged with,” Justice Gokhale concluded while rejecting the bail plea.
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