Extracted from the PDF above. The PDF is authoritative.
2025:HHC:23013 IN THE HIGH COURT OF HIMACHAL PRADESH, SHIMLA Cr.MP(M) No. : 1
524
of 2025 Reserved on :
08 .07.2025 Decided on :
17 .0 7 .2025 Abhishek Sahotra
…Applicant Versus State of Himachal Pradesh …Respondent Coram The Hon’ble Mr. Justice Virender Singh, Judge. Whether approved for reporting? For the applicant : Mr. Jeevan Kumar, Advocate. For the respondent : Mr. Anup Rattan, Advocate General with Mr. Rohit Sharma, Deputy Advocate General, assisted by HC Vijay Kumar No.18, Police Station Palampur, District Kangra, H.P. Virender Singh, Judge By way of the present application, filed under Section 483 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (hereinafter referred to as ‘BNSS’), applicantAbhishek Sahotra has sought his release, on bail, during the pendency of the trial, arising out of FIR No.139 of 2024, dated 13.12.2024, registered under Sections 21 and 29 of
2 2025:HHC:23013 the Narcotic Drugs & Psychotropic Substances Act (hereinafter referred to as the ‘NDPS Act’), with Police Station Palampur, District Kangra, H.P.
2. According to the applicant, he is innocent person and has falsely been implicated, in the present case and he has no concern whatsoever with the offence, for which, he has been arrested, in this case. 3. It has been averred in the application that the contraband, which has allegedly been recovered, in this case, falls within the definition of intermediate quantity and as such, rigors of Section 37 of NDPS Act is not applicable to the present case. 4. As per the applicant, he has been arrested by the police in the month of December, 2024, in connection with FIR in question. Investigation, in the present case, is stated to be completed and the chargesheet is also stated to have been filed, in the competent Court of law. 5. All these facts have been highlighted to show that the custodial interrogation of the applicant is no longer required by the police. 3 2025:HHC:23013
6. Applicant has also pleaded that the following cases have also been registered against him: i. FIR No.132/2024 dated 20.11.2024, u/s 21 and 29 of NDPS Act with PS Palampur, District Kangra, H.P. ii. FIR No.138/2024 dated 12.12.2024, u/s 21, 25 and 29 of NDPS Act with PS Palampur, District Kangra, H.P. iii. FIR No.128/2024 dated 14.11.2024 u/s 22 and 29 of NDPS Act. 7.
According to the applicant, he had earlier tried his luck by moving CrMP(M) No.899 of 2025, before this Court, which was dismissed as withdrawn, vide order dated
02.05.2025. 8. It is the case of the applicant that his co accused, namely Somnath, has already been released on bail, by the Court of learned Special Judge, Palampur, District Kangra, H.P., vide order dated 31.01.2025. 9. Apart from this, Mr. Jeevan Kumar, Advocate, appearing for the applicant, has given certain undertakings, on behalf of the applicant, for which, the applicant is ready to abide by, in case, ordered to be released on bail, during the pendency of the trial. 4 2025:HHC:23013
10.
Learned counsel for the applicant has submitted that even, on the ground of parity, the applicant is entitled to be released on bail, as his coaccused, namely Puneet Kaur, has already been released on bail, by this Court, vide
order dated 27.06.2025, passed in Cr.MP (M) No. 1292 of 2025, and the main accused namely Somnath, has been released on bail by the Court of learned Special Judge, Palampur, District Kangra, H.P., vide order, dated
31.01.2025. 11. On the basis of the above facts, a prayer has been made to allow the bail application. 12. When, put to notice, the police has filed the status report, disclosing therein, that on 12.12.2024, HC Vijay Kumar No.18, I/O Police Station Palampur, along with other police officials, were on patrolling duty and duty to detect the crime towards Burari area boundary. 12.1. It is the case of the police that at about 07:10 pm, while patrolling, the police party were going about 200 meters from the Neugal Bridge on the kandy road, when a white coloured vehicle was seen parked on the right side of
5 2025:HHC:23013 the road. HC Vijay Kumar parked his vehicle on the left side and got down from the vehicle along with the team and went near the abovementioned vehicle. A person was sitting on the front seat on the other side of the driver's seat. Registration Number of the vehicle was found to be HP53C 3061 and I.O. asked the said person as to why he was standing there. On asking his name and address, the said person disclosed his name and address as Somnath, S/o Shri Ratan Ram, R/o VPO Ustehad, Tehsil Baijnath, District Kangra, Himachal Pradesh, aged about 19 years. When, the person sitting in the car was asked to show the vehicle documents, he could not show any document on the spot. 12.2. It is the further case of the police that considering the suspicious activity of the said person, as well as, considering the fact that number of theft cases were reported in the area, IO deemed it proper to search the vehicle. After a while, a vehicle came there from Neugal Bridge side, to which, HC Vijay Kumar gave signal to stop. The driver of the said vehicle stopped the same, who, on asking, disclosed his name and address as Santosh Kumar
6 2025:HHC:23013 S/o Shri Thakur Dass, R/o VPO Bandla Nachir, Tehsil Palampur, District Kangra, Himachal Pradesh. The person sitting with him disclosed his name as Madan Lal, S/o Hoshiyar Singh, R/o Village Manlata PO Kandi, Tehsil Palampur, District Kangra, Himachal Pradesh.
They were informed about the situation and they consented to join the police team as independent witnesses. 12.3. It is the further case of the police that thereafter, HC Vijay Kumar carried out the search the above mentioned vehicle. During search, a matchbox was recovered from a torn area on the driver's seat. IO opened and checked it and found a transparent plastic envelope inside the box. When, it was opened and checked, a white muddy powder like solid substance was found. On checking on the Drug Detection Kit, the said substance was found to be heroin/chitta. On weighment, it was found to be 5.28 grams, which was taken into possession. Other codal formalities were completed. 12.4. Thereafter, police registered the case, under Sections 21 and 25 of NDPS Act. 12.5. During the investigation, spot was visited and
7 2025:HHC:23013 spot map was prepared. Statements of the witnesses were recorded, under Section 180 BNSS. The enquiry was conducted from the accused and accused Somnath was arrested on 12.12.2024 at 11:23 am and the information of his arrest was given to his mother Janaki Devi on her mobile number, as per his request. Medical examination of Somnath was conducted in CH Palampur and MLC was obtained. 12.6. On 13.12.2024, accused Somnath was produced before the Court of learned ACJM, Palampur, from where, he was remanded to police custody for four days and proceedings, under Section 52A(II) of the NDPS Act, were conducted. Thereafter, sample was sent to SFSL, Junga for
analysis. Correspondence has also been made to obtain the call details of the accused and to obtain the records from the Bank and the Revenue Department. 12.7. It is the further case of the police that in this case, the accused had earlier stated his age as 19 years, whose Aadhaar Card, PAN Card and Licence have been checked, in which, the date of birth of accused Somnath is
8 2025:HHC:23013 01.05.1996, which has also been corrected in the case papers. 12.8. During interrogation, accused Somnath has disclosed that he used to buy chitta for himself from one Abhishek Sahota (applicant). In the month of December 2024, he paid an amount of Rs.16,000/ online to Abhishek Sahota (applicant), for buying chitta. According to him, Abhishek Sahota (applicant), firstly gets the chitta placed at different places in Palampur and on receiving the money, he sends the screenshot of the place, where the matchbox, in which, the chitta is kept, is preserved and then he used to pick it up. He himself is addicted to chitta. 12.9. It is the further case of the police that in this case, mobile No.9625656402 of accused Somnath was checked in front of the accused and on checking PhonePay, it was found that the accused had made two transactions of Rs.2000/ each, totalling Rs.4000/ on 04.12.2024 and two transactions of Rs.2000/ each, totalling Rs.4000/ on 07.12.2024, two transactions of 2000/ each on 10.12.2024, totalling Rs.4000/, two transactions of Rs.2000/ each on
9 2025:HHC:23013 12.12.2024, totalling Rs.4000/ and in the month of December 2024, a total of Rs.16,000/ were found to have been transferred to his UPI ID on the scanner, sent by Abhishek Sahota(applicant). Screenshot of the money sent and the scanner, sent by Abhishek Sahota (applicant), was taken, which was taken into police possession. 12.10. As per further revelation of accused Somnath, Abhishek Sahota (applicant), himself and with the help of other people, was supplying chitta, as per demand, at different places in Palampur, through WhatsApp calls and messages from Jalandhar. Abhishek Sahota (applicant), used to get the money transacted in the bank accounts in the name of his wife Puneet Kaur, who used to make payment through Google Pay.
Abhishek Sahota (applicant), has accounts in the name of his wife Puneet Kaur in the branches of Axis Bank and IDBI Bank in the name of Punit Tour and Traveller, through which, Puneet Kaur and Abhishek Sahota (applicant), used to do the transactions. 12.11. The involvement of Abhishek Sahota (applicant), and his wife Puneet Kaur has been found in the aforesaid
10 2025:HHC:23013 case. Consequently, both of them were arrested, in this case. 12.12. As per the status report, three other cases are found to have been registered against the applicant, as well as, his wife, details of which have already been reproduced in the preceding para. 12.13. It is the further case of the police that on 18.01.2025, during the investigation, accused Abhishek Sahota (applicant), disclosed that he and his wife Puneet Kaur used to go to Amritsar and buy chitta from unknown persons, as, chitta is easily available in Punjab. There are old acquaintances in Palampur, who are addicted to chitta/heroin, for a long time and also do the business of buying and selling. He deals in chitta/heroin from Jalandhar, by contacting them and transacts money through Google Pay, so that, he can hide his identity. He knows accused Somnath from a long time and has been supplying chitta to accused Somnath for a long time. 12.14. On further interrogation, accused Abhishek Sahota (applicant), disclosed that Puneet Kaur is his wife. 11 2025:HHC:23013 Puneet Kaur has opened accounts in AXIS Bank, IDBI Bank in the name of Puneet Tour and Travel, for which, he has created two separate UPI IDs in his mobile phone and in his wife Puneet Kaur's mobile phone, which he used to change after a few days. Customers used to make payments through QR Code of these UPI IDs. His wife also helps him in his work. Somnath used to call him on his WhatsApp number to get chitta and he used to provide him chitta.
Somnath had bought chitta many a times, before this, also by depositing money in his account. In the month of December, Somnath had talked to him about buying 5 grams of heroin, for which, he had paid Rs.16,000/. 12.15. It is the further case of the police that Abhishek Sahota (applicant), was arrested on 18.01.2025 at 01:48 pm and his wife Puneet Kaur was arrested on 18.01.2025 at 01:50 pm. 12.16. In this case, upon finding the involvement of both the accused, Abhishek Sahota (applicant), and Puneet Kaur provisions of Section 29 of NDPS Act have been added, in this case. Accused Somnath had used his car for
12 2025:HHC:23013 smuggling drugs, for which, Section 25 of NDPS Act has been deleted. 12.17. It has been mentioned in the status report that on 31.01.2025, the Court of learned Additional Sessions Judge, Palampur has released accused Somnath on bail. 12.18. As per the status report, after completion of the investigation, police has prepared the challan and submitted in the Court of learned Special Judge, Palampur, District Kangra, H.P., on 17.03.2025. 13. On the basis of the above facts, a prayer has been made to dismiss the application. 14. First of all, so far as the registration of the other cases, which have been mentioned by the applicant, in the application, as well as, in the status report, by the State, is concerned, admittedly, in those cases, the competent Court of law has not inflicted any punishment upon the applicant. Mere registration of the other cases, against the applicant, is not sufficient to take away the presumption of innocence, which is still available to the applicant, as, accused is presumed to be innocent till his guilt is proved by the
13 2025:HHC:23013 competent Court of law, after the fullfledged trial. 15. In the present case, investigation is complete, since, as per the status report, the police has submitted the challan in the learned trial Court on 17.03.2025. This fact is sufficient to demonstrate that the custodial interrogation of the applicant is no longer required by the police. 16.
In this case, the contraband, allegedly stated to have been recovered, is 5.28 grams of heroin/chitta. Admittedly, the said contraband does not fall, within the definition of ‘commercial quantity’. As such, the rigors of Section 37 of the NDPS Act are not applicable, in this case
17. Once, it has been held that the rigors of Section 37 of the NDPS Act are not applicable, in that eventuality, the presumption of innocence is still available to the applicants, as the bail application cannot be rejected merely as a matter of punishment, since, pretrial punishment is prohibited under the law. 18. Moreover, the chances of commencement and conclusion of trial against the applicant, in near future, are not so bright. As such, no useful purpose would be served
14 2025:HHC:23013 by keeping the applicant in the judicial custody, that too, for the indefinite period. 19. So far as the arguments of learned Additional Advocate General, qua the fact that the applicant being resident of adjoining State i.e. Punjab, may not be available for the trial and may again indulge in the similar activities, in case, ordered to be released on bail, are concerned, for those apprehensions, reasonable conditions can be imposed upon the applicant, in case, he is ordered to be released on bail. 20. Moreover, the applicant is also entitled to grant of bail on the basis of parity, as his coaccused, namely Somnath, has already been released on bail, by the Court of learned Special Judge, Palampur, District Kangra, H.P., vide
order dated 31.01.2025 and coaccused Puneet Kaur, has been released on bail by this Court, vide order dated 27.06.2025, in Cr.MP(M) No.1292 of 2025. 21. Considering all these facts, this Court is of the view that the applicant is able to make out a case for his release, on bail, during the pendency of the trial. Hence, the
15 2025:HHC:23013 present bail application is liable to be allowed and is accordingly allowed. 22. Consequently, the applicant is ordered to be released, on bail, in case FIR No.139 of 2024, dated 13.12.2024, registered under Sections 21 and 29 of the NDPS Act, with Police Station Palampur, District Kangra, H.P., on his furnishing personal bonds in the sum of Rs.50,000/ with two sureties of the like amount, to the satisfaction of the learned trial Court. 23. This order, however, shall be subject to the following conditions: a) The applicant shall regularly attend the trial Court on each and every date of hearing and if prevented by any reason to do so, seek exemption from appearance by filing the appropriate application; b) The applicant shall not tamper with the prosecution evidence nor hamper the investigation of the case in any manner whatsoever; c) The applicant shall not make any inducement, threat or promises to any person acquainted with the facts of the case so as to dissuade them from disclosing such facts to the Court or the Police Officer, and
16 2025:HHC:23013 d) The applicant shall not leave the territory of India without the prior permission of the Court. 24. Any of the observations, made hereinabove, shall not be taken, as an expression of opinion, on the merits of the case, as these observations are confined, only to the disposal of the present bail application. 25. It is made clear that respondentState is at liberty to move an appropriate application, in case, any of the bail conditions is found violated by the applicant. 26. The Registry is directed to forward a soft copy of the bail order to the Superintendent of Jail, Lala Lajpat Rai, District and Open Air Correctional Home, Dharamshala, District Kangra, Himachal Pradesh, through email, with a direction to enter the date of grant of bail in the eprison software. 27.
In case, the applicant is not released within a period of seven days from the date of grant of bail, the Superintendent of Jail, Lala Lajpat Rai, District and Open Air Correctional Home, Dharamshala, District Kangra,
17 2025:HHC:23013 Himachal Pradesh, is directed to inform this fact to the Secretary, DLSA, Kangra. The Superintendent of Jail, Lala Lajpat Rai, District and Open Air Correctional Home, Dharamshala, District Kangra, Himachal Pradesh, is further
directed that if the applicant fails to furnish the bail bonds, as per the order passed by this Court, within a period of one month from today, then, the said fact be submitted to this Court. (Virender Singh) Judge July 17, 2025 (ps) Digitally signed by VIKRANT CHANDEL Date: 2025.07.17 13:16:05 IST