Rajasthan High Court Refuses To Cancel Bail Granted To Woman SHO Accused Of Diluting NDPS Case For ₹10 Lakh Bribe

The Rajasthan High Court has dismissed the bail cancellation application filed by the State against a woman SHO, accused under NDPS, opining that once the bail was granted, it could not be cancelled in a mechanical manner or merely because the offence was serious.For context, the accused was working as an SHO at the time of the alleged incident. It was alleged that when a car was intercepted by her that was understood to be carrying narcotics, she accepted illegal gratification of Rs. 10 lakhs, and the matter was diluted and manipulated to help the car drivers. It was argued by the state that the coordinate bench of the Court had allowed the bail without considering the gravity and seriousness of the manner. Hence, the present bail cancellation application was filed before the Court. This was opposed by the counsel for the respondent, who argued that the respondent was entitled for bail since she was a female. After hearing the contentions, the bench of Justice Ashok Kumar Jain referred to the Supreme Court case of Abhimanyu Etc. v State of Kerala, to hold that bail once granted could be cancelled only if any of the bail conditions were violated, or the accused misused liberty, or tampered with evidence, or influenced the witnesses.Further reference was made to the Supreme Court case of Dataram Singh v State of Uttar Pradesh, in which the Apex Court had observed that there was a difference between the yardsticks for cancellation of bail and appeal against the order granting bail. “Normally the ground for cancellation of bail are, interference or attempt to interfere with the due course of administration of justice or evasion or attempt to escape the due course of justice or abuse of the concessions granted to the accused in any manner.”In this background, the Court held that the grounds raised by the State for the present application were only that the gravity of the charge was not considered. However, order granting bail had itself indicated that the bail was granted after considering the offence. The Court further opined that the application for cancellation of bail was filed only on the ground that there was an error on part of the Court, however, it was observed that the Court was not sitting as an appellate court to judge the bail order passed by another coordinate bench. The Court also considered the fact that the accused was a woman and referred to certain Supreme Court decisions to hold that the person of tender age and women were likely to be more vulnerable may sometimes be misused by unscrupulous elements and made scapegoats for committing such crimes. Reference was made to a Supreme Court decision, in which the bail was granted to the accused, charged under the PMLA, on the ground that she was a female. In light of the totality of facts and circumstances, it was opined that the State should have taken proper legal advice before filing the present bail cancellation application, since the application was totally misconceived and lacked merit.Accordingly, the application was dismissed. Title: State of Rajasthan v Smt. Seems Jakhar Citation: 2026 LiveLaw (Raj) 200Click Here To Read/Download Order

Rajasthan High Court Refuses To Cancel Bail Granted To Woman SHO Accused Of Diluting NDPS Case For ₹10 Lakh Bribe

Nupur Agrawal

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Rajasthan High Court Refuses To Cancel Bail Granted To Woman SHO Accused Of Diluting NDPS Case For ₹10 Lakh Bribe

Nupur Agrawal

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