Section 37 bars a court from granting bail to an accused booked under the NDPS Act when commercial quantity of contraband is involved, unless the court is satisfied that there are reasonable grounds for believing that accused is not guilty and is not likely to commit any offence while on bail.
Single-judge Justice Ajit Borthakur was hearing a bail application filed by one Lorik Ram, a driver engaged by the VRS Logistics Ltd.
The accused argued that he wasn’t aware of what was loaded in the truck and was merely discharging his duty to drop the vehicle at the point mentioned in his assignment roaster.
The judge noted that even the police diary mentioned that the narcotics suppliers would have misused the vehicle.
“It transpires (from diary entry) that the accused is the driver of truck of VRL Logistics and it is his duty to deliver the consignments of various goods loaded by the said company to the consignee as per challan. After thorough investigation, the investigating officer in his note, dated March 7, noted that ‘narcotic suppliers/peddlers’ misused the ‘vehicles of VRL Logistics to fulfil their malicious intent’, which were just carried by the accused driver,” the bench noted.
Stating that this finding of the IO is, subject to final outcome in investigation, Justice Borthakur said,
“Therefore, this Court is prima facie of the opinion that rigors of Section 37 of the NDPS Act are not attracted in the peculiar backdrop of facts and circumstances concerning the present accused.”
Source: Barandbench
