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| HC upholds PSA of drug peddler | | | Early Times Report
JAMMU, Apr 21: Justice Sanjeev Kumar of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh High Court while upholding the detention under PSA of Gulcharan Singh, observed that the petitioner is an incorrigible drug peddler and would not be deterred by the ordinary law of the land, therefore, it is imperative to place him under preventive detention with a view to preventing him from indulging in illicit traffic of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances.
Justice Sanjeev Kumar after hearing AAG Amit Gupta for the UT, observed that 16. It is writ large from the record that the petitioner has been indulging in illicit traffic of illicit drugs very cleverly. He has been trafficking illicit drugs in small quantity so that he could easily obtain bail from the Court without being caught by the rigors of Section 37 of the NDPS Act. In such situation, challenge to the bail granted by the Court to the petitioner in respect of either a small quantity or an intermediate quantity of illicit drug would have been a futile exercise.
Justice Sanjeev Kumar further observed that the grounds of detention clearly reflect proper application of mind by the Detaining Authority to all aspect of the matter and in particular the propensity of the petitioner in indulging in illicit trade of illicit drugs and narcotics. It cannot be disputed that the petitioner was first caught in the year 2016 with the possession of Opium weighing 52 milligrams and cash of Rs. 1,63,400/- and was later on enlarged on bail by the Court merely on the ground that the petitioner was allegedly found in possession of illicit drug of small quantity. The petitioner came out on bail and again indulged in the similar activities and was once again caught on 29.07.2019 and this time with 6.26 gms of heroin. It was again less than the commercial quantity and, therefore, he was let off on bail by the competent court of law. He came out on bail and again indulged in the illicit traffic. On 14-04-2020 the petitioner was again caught with 6 grms of heroin and Rs. 60,000/- in cash but on presentation of the challan the petitioner was enlarged on bail. On 12-12-2021 again the petitioner was caught with 6 grams heroin and while the case was under investigation, the petitioner was enlarged on bail by competent Court. Again on 24.06.2023, the petitioner was caught with 11 gms of heroin, again a small quantity of contraband. The petitioner was again granted bail by the Court. Having regard to his past conduct and his continuous involvement in the illicit traffic without being deterred by registration of cases against him, the police authorities brought the entire material to the notice of the Detaining Authority. 18. As noticed above, in the instant case where the petitioner had been very smartly indulging in trafficking of heroin of small quantity and the rigors of Section 37 of NDPC were not attracted, an application for cancellation of bail or for that matter filing of appeal or revision would have been an exercise in futility. Registration of five cases in a row and the propensity of the petitioner to repeatedly indulge in illicit traffic of small quantity of a contraband which fetches highest price in international market was material good enough to invoke PITNDPS. The Detaining Authority, as is clearly apparent from the grounds of detention, applied its mind and reached subjective satisfaction that the petitioner is an incorrigible drug peddler and would not be deterred by the ordinary law of the land, therefore, it is imperative to place him under preventive detention with a view to preventing him from indulging in illicit traffic of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances.
With these observations, High Court dismissed the petition. —JNF |
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