AAMIR SHEHZAD vs STATE and another
This criminal miscellaneous petition was filed by the petitioner, Aamir Shehzad, seeking post-arrest bail in a case registered under Section 9-C of the Control of Narcotic Substances Act, 1997, following the recovery of 1250 grams of Charas. The core legal question was whether the petitioner was entitled to the concession of bail given the circumstances of the recovery and the procedural ambiguities in the police report. The Lahore High Court held that the petitioner is entitled to bail. The Court observed that the prosecution failed to clarify whether the recovered substance was weighed including its packaging or separately, creating uncertainty regarding the actual quantity of the contraband. Furthermore, the Court noted the absence of evidence in the FIR regarding the preparation of a sealed parcel for chemical analysis to confirm the nature of the recovered substance. Emphasizing that the petitioner had been incarcerated since his arrest and was no longer required for investigation, the Court granted post-arrest bail, establishing that procedural discrepancies regarding the weighing and sampling of narcotics constitute valid grounds for the grant of bail pending trial.
- Does the failure to clarify whether the weight of narcotics included packaging material constitute a ground for bail?
- Is the absence of a sealed sample for chemical analysis a relevant factor in considering post-arrest bail in narcotics cases?
- Can a petitioner be granted bail when the quantity of recovered narcotics is disputed due to procedural ambiguities in the FIR?
- Section 9-C, Control of Narcotic Substances Act, 1997
- Section 9-B, Control of Narcotic Substances Act, 1997
ORDER
Aamir Shehzad, the petitioner by filing the instant criminal miscellaneous, prays for post arrest bail in case F.I.R. No, 297/2016, dated 15.12.2016, under Section 9-C of the Control of Narcotic Substances Act, 1997 registered at Police Station Lamar Mushani, District Mianwali.
2. As per crime report, the petitioner was arrested by the police party on spy information and from his personal search, 1250-grams Charas alongwith sale amount Rs,500/- was recovered.
3. Arguments heard. Record perused.
4. The record shows that the petitioner was apprehended on 15.12.2016 and has been sent to judicial lock up. From the contents of the F.I.R. it is not clear whether recovered Charas was weighed alongwith shopper or it was separated for weighing, so this aspect is yet to be ascertained by the learned trial Court. As such keening in view the quantity of recovered Charas, it is bit on higher side than from the quantity of charas falling under ambit of Section 9-B of Control of Narcotic Substances Act, 1997. The petitioner is behind the bars since his arrest and is no more required for further investigation. In the F.I.R. it is not mentioned that any sealed parcel of sample was prepared for chemical analysis to ascertain that the recovered item is contraband Charas or not.
5: After examining the record tentatively, this petition is accepted and the petitioner is allowed post arrest bail subject to his furnishing bail bond in the sum of Rs,200,000/- with two sound sureties in the like amount to the satisfaction of learned trial Court.