Muhammad Yaqoob vs State
The petitioner, Muhammad Yaqoob, sought post-arrest bail on the fresh ground of statutory delay in a case registered under Section 9-D of the Control of Narcotic Substances Act, 1997, arising from the alleged recovery of 2020 grams of heroin and 2075 grams of chars from his motorbike. The core legal question was whether the petitioner was entitled to bail on the grounds of statutory delay and debatable safe custody of the recovered narcotics. The Peshawar High Court held that the safe custody of the contraband was a matter of further probe due to delays and discrepancies in transmitting samples to the FSL, and noted that the trial had been delayed due to the non-availability of prosecution witnesses. The court accepted the petition and admitted the accused to post-arrest bail, establishing that unexplained delays in sample transmission and prosecution lapses regarding witness attendance can constitute sufficient grounds for further inquiry warranting the grant of bail.
- Whether delayed transmission of narcotic samples to the FSL makes the safe custody of the contraband a matter of further probe?
- Can statutory delay arising from the non-availability of prosecution witnesses serve as a ground for granting post-arrest bail?
- Whether the recovery of a huge quantity of narcotics disentitles an accused to bail when trial delays are attributable to the prosecution?
- Section 9-D, Control of Narcotic Substances Act 1997
Through the instant petition, Muhammad Yaqoob, accused/ petitioner seeks his release on bail, on the fresh ground/statutory delay , in case registered vide FIR No. 159 dated 8.4.2020 under Section 9-D CNSA registered at Police Station Azakhel, District Nowshera. His earlier bail petition was dismissed by this Court on merit on 28.05.2021.
2. Arguments heard and record of the case was perused.
3. It is the.case of prosecution that the petitioner while riding a motorbike was intercepted by the police and from the secret cavities in motorbike two packets of heroin weighing 2020 grams and two packets of chars weighing 2075 grams were recovered.
4. His earlier bail petition was dismissed mainly for the reason that huge quantity of narcotics was recovered from his possession. However , his earlier bail petition was rejected by this Court on 28.05.2020 whereas the FSL report was prepared on 29.05.2020. According to the FSL report the samples of the contraband were received in the laboratory on 04.05.2020 whereas the offence has been committed on 08.04.2 020. It was contended by the learned AAG that at the relevant time the FSL laboratory was closed owing to COVID-19 pandemic; however , in this regard no evidence is available on the file. The Register No. 19 further reveals that the said samples were handed over to the police official on 30.04.2010 which was received in the laborato ry on 04.05.2020. Thus, the safe custody of the narcotics in the circumstances of the case is a matter of further probe. Even otherwise the present petitioner was arrested on 08.04.2020 and order sheets available on the record shows that so far the prosecution could not produce their evidence before the trial Court. On good number of occasions the prosecution witnesses were not available and for that reason non bailable warrants were issued against them.
5. In view of above, the petitioner was able to make out a case for bail, therefore, the application is accepted and accused/petitioner Muhammad Yaqoob is admitted to bail provided he furnishes bail bond in the sum of Rs.
200,000/- (two lac) with two sureties each in the like amount to the satisfaction of Illaqa/Duty Judicial Magistrate.
6. The above are the detail reasons of my short order of the even date.