22 December 2023 Adulteration of Drugs >> Criminal Law   |   Bail and Antcipatory Bail >> Criminal Law  

Naeem, arrested for allegedly trying to buy morphine, has been denied bail by a Delhi Court. The court rejected his argument that the charge-sheet against him was incomplete because it lacked a Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) report at the time of filing.

Background:

Naeem was arrested with co-accused Arif and another person in March 2022. Authorities claim to have seized 340 grams of morphine, considered a commercial quantity, from Arif. While an FSL report confirming the substance was later included in a supplementary charge-sheet, the initial one lacked it.

Naeem sought default bail based on two arguments. Firstly, he claimed the incomplete charge-sheet without the FSL report made him eligible for bail. Secondly, he pointed to the release of co-accused Arif on bail by the Supreme Court.

Court's Reasoning:

The court disagreed with Naeem's arguments. It highlighted that the Supreme Court's order granting bail to Arif did not establish a general principle for granting default bail in all cases where the initial charge-sheet lacked an FSL report. The court also clarified that not including the FSL report initially doesn't render the charge-sheet "incomplete" for purposes of default bail.

Conclusion:

Naeem's bail petition was dismissed. The court, however, emphasized that this decision doesn't reflect on the merits of the case, which will be decided during the trial.

  Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985