Supreme Court: In a Special Leave to Petition seeking interim relief against the judgment and order dated 14-11-2022 passed by Gujarat High Court dismissing application by the petitioner while granting bail to other accused in offences under Section 8(c), 20(b) & 29 of Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 (‘NDPS Act’), the Division Bench of Krishna Murari and Sanjay Kumar, JJ. considered the medical condition of petitioner in the instant matter, who was on ventilator and recently discharged for lack of proper medical treatment in the prison and granted him bail.
The allegations as per the First Information in the instant matter reflect that the petitioner and other accused were apprehended along with 10 Kg 300 gm narcotic substance (Cannabis i.e. Ganja) of Rs. 1,03,000/- in their custody without any permit. Thus, the petitioner has been in incarceration for more than 1 year and 7 months.
It was alleged that the petitioner was on ventilator at the time of filing of the instant petition, and that the High Court dismissed the criminal miscellaneous application filed by the petitioner without looking into facts and circumstances of the case. Reference was made to Sanjay Chandra v. CBI, (2012) 1 SCC 40 by the petitioner to press on the Court’s discretionary power on grant or refusal of bail.
The Court observed the medical condition of the petitioner who was on a ventilator earlier but discharged due to non-availability of proper medical treatment in the prison. The Court also acknowledged the fact that the petitioner has been in incarceration for more than 1 year and 7 months. Thus, the Court directed the release of the petitioner on bail.
[Salim Valimamad Majothi v. State of Gujarat, 2023 SCC OnLine SC 659, Order dated 17-5-2023]
Advocates who appeared in this case:
For Petitioners: Advocate on record Namit Saxena, Advocate Awnish Maithani, Advocate Shivam Raghuwanshi, Advocate Shiksha Ashra;
For Respondents: Advocate on record Swati Ghildiyal, Advocate Devyani Bhatt, Advocate Himanshi Shakya.