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2026 DAILYLAW 2950 (CAL)

SUMIT MISHRA v. THE STATE OF WEST BENGAL

CRM(NDPS)/12/2026 · 2026-02-19

Suvra Ghosh

body2026

Judgment text

Extracted from the PDF above. The PDF is authoritative.

19.02.2026 87 jb. jdt. IN THE HIGH COURT AT CALCUTTA CIRCUIT BENCH AT JALPAIGURI CRIMINAL MISCELLANEOUS JURISDICTION C.R.M. (NDPS) 12 of 2026 In Re : An Application for bail under Section 483 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 filed in connection with Kotwali Police Station Case No. 731 of 2024 dated 16.07.2024 under Sections 21(c)/25/29 of the NDPS Act. And In Re : Sumit Mishra Ms. Upasana Chhetri ... For the Petitioner. Mr. Ujjwal Luksum Mr. Chattu Roy … For the State The petitioner is in custody for more than a year and prays for bail. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that the trial is proceeding at a snail’s pace. Search and seizure have also not been videographed. He is the driver of the vehicle from which the contraband substance was seized. He was not in conscious possession of the articles and was merely driving the vehicle for his livelihood. Learned counsel for the State opposes the prayer. I have considered the material on record. It appears from the written complaint that though search and seizure were being videographed, it was interrupted due to rain 2 fall and the battery of the recording device getting exhausted. Therefore, there is substantial compliance of the mandate laid down by this Court. Contraband substance of commercial quantity has been recovered from the vehicle which was being driven by the petitioner. Whether the petitioner was in conscious possession of the said substance shall be decided at the appropriate stage of trial. This Court is informed that 19 witnesses are proposed to be examined out of whom P.W. 1 has been examined in chief. In view of the statutory restriction under Section 37 of the NDPS Act , prayer for bail is rejected at this stage. Learned trial Court is directed to expedite the trial and take the same to its logical conclusion in accordance with law. CRM (NDPS) 12 of 2026 is disposed of. Case diary be returned. All parties shall act on the server copy of this order duly downloaded from the official website of this Court. Urgent certified website copy of this order, if applied for, be supplied to the parties upon compliance with all requisite formalities. (Suvra Ghosh, J.)