Bombay HC grants bail to NDPS accused; observes Arthur road jail overcrowded by 5-6 times its sanctioned capacity

A single-judge seat of Justice Milind N Jadhav connected February 7 was proceeding bail plea by 1 Sameer Latif Shaikh argued done advocator Nimesh Mehta. Shaikh was booked and arrested by Narcotics Control Bureau(NCB) successful June, 2021 for possessing 52 grams of MD, which is 2 grams supra commercialized quantity nether Narcotics Drug and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act.

Mehta argued that Shaikh has been incarcerated for implicit 3 and fractional years, the probe is implicit and a chargesheet has been filed successful the case, truthful determination was nary intent for keeping him down the bars.

He besides submitted that Shaikh had a beardown lawsuit since determination were discrepancies successful seizure successful the prosecution’s lawsuit and truthful the sessions tribunal successful Thane wrongly rejected his bail plea.

Justice Jadhav perused submissions and observed that “drug epidemic is simply a quasi pandemic of modern era, adjacent developed societies person not been saved from the menace of cause traffickers.

The HC added, “The repercussions of cause usage are acold reaching including but not constricted to expanding transgression rate, stunted economical growth, lowering wellness standards, the database could ne'er beryllium exhaustive. Like immoderate different mischief that acts arsenic a menace to the involvement of society, cause trafficking besides has circumstantial penal laws aimed and enacted to curb the said mischief.

Justice Jadhav besides said that the HC has been regularly dealing with bail applications of undertrials who person been successful custody for agelong incarceration and is arsenic alert of conditions successful prisons.

It referred to different case, successful which Superintendent of Mumbai Central Prison done December, 2024 had stated that Arthur Road jailhouse is “overcrowded beyond its sanctioned capableness by much than 5 – 6 times and each barrack sanctioned to location 50 inmates, arsenic of date, it houses anyplace betwixt 220 – 250 inmates.”

The justice added, “This concern is inhumane, but it besides cannot beryllium forgotten that addiction of drugs is besides a superior contented for nine astatine large.” The HC said that truthful it had to equilibrium betwixt these 2 priorities portion deciding bail plea.

Justice Jadhav weighed successful and granting bail to Shaikh observed “in presumption of the ambiguity and dichotomy successful signaling the close value of the contraband astatine the clip of seizure which is seen and coupled with the facet of Right to Speedy proceedings flowing from Article 21 of the Constitution and keeping successful caput that the applicant is simply a young antheral with a aboriginal afloat of opportunities, I americium inclined to let the bail exertion considering the totality of circumstances.”