Charanjit Kaur @ Billi vs State of Punjab

Naresh Kumar Sanghi, J.—Prayer in this petition is for grant of regular bail to the petitioner, Charanjit Kaur @ Billi, wife of Mohinder Singh, resident of Patti Saul, Village Mehraj, Tehsil Phul, District Bathinda, who has been booked for having committed the offences punishable under Sections 21 and 22 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 (for brevity, ''the Act''), in a case arising out of FIR No. 95, dated 31.8.2012, registered at Police Station, Rampura, District Bathinda. Learned counsel contends that the petitioner was allegedly arrested on 31.8.2012 and thereafter on 27.2.2013, an application was presented by the prosecution for extension of the time, prescribed for submitting the charge-sheet, which was extended for one month. Thereafter, second application was presented on 26.3.2013 for the same relief and the time was further extended up to 26.4.2013, but even after extension of the time twice, the charge-sheet (report u/s 173, Cr.P.C.) was presented on 25.5.2013 while the petitioner had already moved an application for grant of bail in terms of Section 36-A of the Act read with Section 167(2), Cr.P.C. The said prayer has wrongly been declined by the learned Court below.

Learned counsel for the State on instructions from ASI Amrik Singh of Police Station, Rampura, District Bathinda, very fairly concedes that on the basis of an application presented by the Public Prosecutor, the learned Judge, Special Court, Bathinda, had extended the limitation for completion of the investigation and presentation of the charge-sheet (report u/s 173, Cr.P.C.) till 26.4.2013 and that on 27.4.2013 the petitioner presented an application for grant of bail by virtue of Section 36-A of the Act, while the charge-sheet was presented by the investigating agency on 25.5.2013, i.e. much beyond the period extended twice by the learned Special Court.

I have heard learned counsel for the parties and gone through the material available on record.

For the sake of convenience, Section 36-A of the Act is reproduced as under:-

36A. Offences triable by Special Courts.-

(1) Notwithstanding anything contained in the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (2 of 1974),-

(a) all offences under this Act which are punishable with imprisonment for a term of more than three years shall be triable only by the Special Court constituted for the area in which the offence has been committed or where there are more Special Courts than one for such area, by such one of them as may be specified in this behalf by the Government;

(b) where a person accused of or suspected of the commission of an offence under this Act is forwarded to a Magistrate under sub-section (2) or sub-section (2A) of section 167 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (2 of 1974), such Magistrate may authorise the detention of such person in such custody as he thinks fit for a period not exceeding fifteen days in the whole where such Magistrate is a Judicial Magistrate and seven days in the whole where such Magistrate is an Executive Magistrate:

Provided that in cases which are triable by the Special Court where such Magistrate considers-

(i) when such person is forwarded to him as aforesaid; or

(ii) upon or at any time before the expiry of the period of detention authorised by him,

that the detention of such person is unnecessary, he shall order such person to be forwarded to the Special Court having jurisdiction;

(c) the Special Court may exercise, in relation to the person forwarded to it under clause (b), the same power which a Magistrate having jurisdiction to try a case may exercise u/s 167 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (2 of 1974), in relation to an accused person in such case who has been forwarded to him under that section;

(d) a Special Court may, upon perusal of police report of the facts constituting an offence under this Act or upon complaint made by an officer of the Central Government or a State Government authorised in his behalf, take cognizance of that offence without the accused being committed to it for trial.

(2) When trying an offence under this Act, a Special Court may also try an offence other than an offence under this Act with which the accused may, under the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (2 of 1974), be charged at the same trial.

(3) Nothing contained in this section shall be deemed to affect the special powers of the High Court regarding bail u/s 439 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (2 of 1974), and the High Court may exercise such powers including the power under clause (b) of sub-section (1) of that section as if the reference to "Magistrate" in that section included also a reference to a "Special Court" constituted u/s 36.

(4) In respect of persons accused of an offence punishable u/s 19 or section 24 or section 27A or for offences involving commercial quantity the references in subsection (2) of section 167 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (2 of 1974), thereof to "ninety days", where they occur, shall be construed as reference to "one hundred and eighty days":

Provided that, if it is not possible to complete the investigation within the said period of one hundred and eighty days, the Special Court may extend the said period up to one year on the report of the Public Prosecutor indicating the progress of the investigation and the specific reasons for the detention of the accused beyond the said period of one hundred and eighty days.

(5) Notwithstanding anything contained in the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (2 of 1974), the offences punishable under this Act with imprisonment for a term of not more than three years may be tried summarily.

Concededly, the charge-sheet was filed much beyond 180 days and even beyond the period extended twice of the arrest of the petitioner and before that on 27.4.2013 the petitioner had moved an application for releasing him on bail. Therefore, a right had accrued to the petitioner to seek bail in the present case. Keeping in view the totality of the facts and circumstances of the case, the prayer for grant of regular bail to the petitioner, Charanjit Kaur @ Billi, wife of Mohinder Singh, resident of Patti Saul, Village Mehraj, Tehsil Phul, District Bathinda, is allowed. She is ordered to be released on bail during pendency of the trial of the present case, subject to her furnishing bail bonds to the satisfaction of the learned Trial Court.