Calcutta High Court Grants Bail To Accused Under NDPS Act Citing Non-Compliance Of S.41B CrPC

The Calcutta High Court recently granted bail to two accused persons in a NDPS case on the grounds that Section 41B of CrPC was not complied with, there were discrepancies in the documents of seizure.

While allowing the bail application of the accused persons the division bench of Justice Sabyasachi Bhattacharyya and Justice Rai Chattopadhyay held:

“The provisions of Section 41B of the Code of Criminal Procedure have to be complied with and that there cannot be any discrepancy inherent in the seizure list in order to raise a proper presumption under Section 37 of the N.D.P.S. Act, we are of the opinion that the petitioners are entitled to bail.”

The counsel for the petitioners contended that there were several crucial discrepancies in the documents of seizure such as:

1. Section 41B of the CrPC was not complied with in letter and spirit as no responsible person of the locality was taken as a witness.
2. No independent witness’s signature was taken on seizure list and only signatory on the seizure list was a member of the raiding party.

While opposing the bail application, the counsel for the state submitted that the raiding party went along with a portable printer and investigation kits and the mere fact of the seizure list being a computer printout cannot be held to be suspect.

The court observed that it is well-settled legal position that the provisions of Section 41B of the CrPC have to be complied with.

Accordingly, the court granted bail to petitioners with conditions.

However, the court directed that the petitioners shall not leave the territorial jurisdiction of the trial court during the entire period of trial.

Case Title: Md. Mirmoizuddin Rahaman & Anr. v. State

Citation: 2023 LiveLaw (Cal) 63

Coram: Justice Sabyasachi Bhattacharyya and Justice Rai Chattopadhyay

Click Here to Read/Download Order