Chhattisgarh HC Denies Bail To 2 Men In 8-Kg Ganja Case Over Incomplete Disclosure Of Criminal Antecedents

The applicants sought regular bail under Section 483 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, in connection with Crime No. 72/2024.

The prosecution alleged that 8 kg of ganja had been seized from their joint possession. Dale Singh was charged under Section 20(b)(ii)(B) of the NDPS Act; Vishnu Sharma was charged under Sections 20(b)(ii)(B) and 29.

Both had been in custody since 20 June 2024, and the State submitted that the charge-sheet had been filed.

The State reported ten criminal antecedents against Dale Singh, who had disclosed five, and five against Vishnu Sharma, who had disclosed none.

The applications were made under Section 483 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, seeking regular bail.

The alleged offences were under Section 20(b)(ii)(B) of the NDPS Act and, in Vishnu Sharma’s case, Section 29 of that Act.

The Court assessed the bail requests by considering the circumstances of the case, the nature and gravity of the allegations, and the applicants’ criminal antecedents.

No precedent or separate statutory bail test was cited in the order.

Although the applicants relied on the intermediate quantity allegedly seized, their custody since June 2024, and the likely delay in concluding the trial, the Court considered the applicants’ antecedents significant.

It noted that Dale Singh had disclosed only five of the ten reported antecedents, with two disclosed cases still pending and no explanation for the remaining five; Vishnu Sharma had disclosed none of the five reported antecedents.

On that record, the Court declined bail at that stage.

It left the applicants at liberty to file better applications explaining all their respective criminal antecedents.