Neutral Citation No. - 2025:AHC:84334 Court No. - 68 Case :- CRIMINAL MISC. BAIL APPLICATION No. - 14623 of 2025 Applicant :- Vishnu Pathak Opposite Party :- State of U.P. Counsel for Applicant :- Rajesh Pratap Singh Counsel for Opposite Party :- G.A. Hon'ble Ashutosh Srivastava,J. Heard Shri P.C. Srivastava, learned counsel for the applicant, Shri Anil Kumar Singh, learned AGA for the State-respondents and perused the record. The instant IInd bail application at the instance of the applicant Vishnu Pathak has been filed seeking enlargement on Bail in Case Crime No. 0139 of 2024 under Section 8/20 of N.D.P.S. Act and Sections 319(2), 318(4), 338, 336(3) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, Police Station- Bhanwarkol, District- Ghazipur (U.P.) during the pendency of the trial before the court below. The applicant was apprehended with 640 kg of Ganja contained in 30 bags from a vehicle driven by the applicant. The 1st bail application of the applicant was rejected by this Court on merits vide order dated 12.12.2024. The applicant is languishing in jail since 10.09.2024. Sri P.C. Srivastava, learned counsel for the applicant while pressing the IInd bail application of the applicant has argued that the chargesheet against the applicant was filed as far back as on 08.10.2024 and cognizance of the same has also been taken on 20.11.2024. Thereafter charges were framed on 08.01.2025 and dates are being fixed for evidence. Several dates are being fixed but no evidence is being recorded for reasons unknown. It is also argued that the I.O. had not proceeded in accordance with law. The applicant has been falsely implicated in this case. He has no criminal history. The Apex Court in the case of Union of India vs. Shiv Shankar Kesari, reported in 2007(7) SCC 798 has held that the Court while considering the bail application with reference to Section 37 of the NDPS Act is not called upon to record a finding of not guilty, but for a limited purpose is called upon to see if there are reasonable grounds for believing the accused not guilty and record its satisfaction about existence of the grounds to release the accused on bail. It is also argued that the co-accused, Ravi Shankar Pathak with identical role has been granted bail by a Coordinate Bench of this Court vide order dated 20.03.2025 passed in Bail Application No. 40217 of 2024. Hence bail has been prayed for. Learned AGA has vehemently opposed the prayer for bail. Considering all above facts and circumstances, the nature of accusations, severity of the punishment in the case of conviction and nature of supporting evidence, reasonable apprehension of tampering with the witness and prima facie case, but without commenting on merit of case, a case for bail is made out. Accordingly, the bail application is allowed. Let the accused-applicant, Vishnu Pathak, involved in above mentioned case crime number be released on bail, on his executing a personal bond and two reliable sureties each, in the like amount to the satisfaction of the court concerned, subject to the following conditions: 1. The applicant will not tamper with the evidence. 2. The applicant will not indulge in any criminal activity. 3. The applicant will not pressurize/intimidate the prosecution witnesses and co-operate in the trial. 4. The applicant will appear regularly on each and every date fixed by the trial court, unless his personal appearance is exempted through counsel by the court concerned. In the event of breach of any of the aforesaid conditions, the court below will be at liberty to proceed to cancel his bail. Order Date :- 20.5.2025 Anjali Digitally signed by :- ANJALI SHARMA High Court of Judicature at Allahabad