The Himachal Pradesh High Court has granted bail to an accused in a case of NDPS Act involving recovery of 16.01 grams of heroin. Considering the fact that the accused had undergone incarceration for more than one year and nine months, the High Court observed that the accused’s plea of violation of right to a speedy trial was justified.

The petitioner, who was arrested for the commission of offences punishable under Sections 21 and 29 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, had filed the petition before the High Court seeking regular bail.

The Single Bench of Justice Rakesh Kainthla said, “The status report shows that the petitioner was found in possession of 16.01 grams of heroin, which is an intermediate quantity and slightly above the minimum quantity. The petitioner has been in custody since 31.07.2023, and keeping in view the quantity stated to have been found in possession of the petitioner, the failure to conclude the trial within one year and nine months assumes significance and justifies the plea of the petitioner that his right to a speedy trial is being violated.”

Advocate Harsh Sharol represented the Petitioner while Additional Advocate General Jitender Sharma represented the Respondent.

Factual Background

The police intercepted a vehicle and recovered 16.01 grams of heroin. The petitioner was occupying the front seat, and Vipul was driving the vehicle. The police arrested the occupants and conducted the investigation. The petitioner was convicted and ordered to undergo imprisonment for four years.

Reasoning

The Bench took note of the fact that the petitioner had earlier filed a bail petition, which was dismissed by the Court. Referring to a catena of judgments wherein it has been held that once a bail application has been dismissed, a subsequent bail application can only be considered if there is a change of circumstances, the Bench said, “Therefore, the present bail petition can only be considered on the basis of the change in the circumstances, and it is not permissible to review the order passed by the Court.”

It was further noticed that the status report showed that the petitioner was found in possession of 16.01 grams of heroin, which is an intermediate quantity and slightly above the minimum quantity.

The Bench observed, “In the present case, the fact that the prosecution has not examined even a single witness within one year and nine months shows that the trial is not likely to conclude soon.” The Bench was of the view that further incarceration of the petitioner was not justified as the petitioner had undergone incarceration for more than one year and nine months, the trial had not yet commenced, and there was no likelihood of early conclusion of the trial. The quantity of the heroin was also taken into consideration.

Thus, the Bench ordered the petitioner to be released on bail on furnishing amount of Rs 50,000 with one surety of the like amount to the satisfaction of the Trial Court.

Cause Title: Yash Pal Thakur v. State of Himachal Pradesh (Neutral Citation: 2025:HHC:17295)

Appearance

Petitioner: Advocate Harsh Sharol

Respondent/State: Additional Advocate General Jitender Sharma

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Himachal Pradesh High CourtJustice Rakesh Kainthla

Tulip Kanth

Assistant Editor

Tulip Kanth is an Assistant Editor at Verdictum having over 5 years of experience in the field of legal journalism and editing. She extensively covers judgments of the Supreme Court, High Courts as well as Tribunals. She has previously worked with a legal publishing website where she oversaw the work of other editors and has also created updates on notifications of different Government Ministries. She holds an English Honours Degree from SGTB Khalsa College, Delhi University and has completed her LLB course with specialisation in Corporate Law from Amity University.