The petitioner, Amit Hooda who was arrested when he was found in possession of 200 grams of heroin, is released on bail by Hon’ble Punjab and Haryana High Court. He was arrested under the provisions of Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1995.

The drug offences are considered to be very serious under this act and a strict punishment is to be given to the offender. The quantum of sentence, fine and the grant of bail varies with offence. The act also specifies the quantity of drug involved as small or for commercial purposes. Also, under this Act the abetment, conspiracy and attempt to commit the offence carries the same punishment as that of the offence itself.

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Brief facts of the Case:

  1. Amit Hooda, a native of Rohtak district in Haryana, was alleged to be found in possession of 200 grams of heroine.
  2. He was arrested in January by the Chandigarh police near MLA hostel in Chandigarh.
  3. At the time of arrest, the petitioner claimed to be a relative of the former Baroda MLA, Shri Krishan Hooda.
  4. The FIR was registered at Sector 39 Police Station in Chandigarh and Amit had been lodged in Burail Jail.
  5. The UT counsel inform the learned judge that the investigation was complete and the challan had been presented but the charges were yet to be framed.

Legal stand out point:

As stated in the Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1955 deals with the offences related to the drugs. The punishment is given according to it’s provisions and the punishment is decided on the basis of the quantity of the drugs found in the possession of the accused. The act states that every offence related to the drugs shall be treated as a cognizable offence. The act also provides for the application of Code of Criminal Procedure wherever necessary. The bail can be granted to the offender under the Section 439 of the code which gives special powers to the High Court or Court of session regarding bail.

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Observations by the Court:

The petitioner was alleged to be in possession of 200 grams of heroin. This is less than the Commercial quantity as mentioned in the Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act. The charges have not been framed yet against the petitioner. It stands conceded that the petitioner is not involved in any other case under NDPS Act. Without making any observation on merit, petitioner is held by the court entitled to the benefit of bail.

The Court observes that the petitioner has been granted bail of furnishing the bail bond or surety to the satisfaction of the Chief Judicial Magistrate.

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Conclusion:

The petitioner, Amit Hooda, is found to be a resident of the native village of the former Baroda MLA who died recently. The MLA at the time of arrest himself stated that he has no relations with the petitioner and had stated that they were just from the same village.

The commercial quantity of the heroin under the NDPS Act is 250 grams which is more than the quantity found with the petitioner. Therefore, the Court after observing all the facts and laws, granted the bail to the petitioner.

For case specific advice, please contact Punjab Haryana High Court Bail Lawyers in Chandigarh Panchkula Mohali.

This post is written Riya Rana.

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