CDRs not enough for conviction in NDPS Act cases without voice recordings: Jammu and Kashmir High Court

The Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh High Court recently ruled that call detail records (CDRs) showing contact between the accused persons will not be sufficient to convict a person in drugs case in the absence of voice recordings or the content of such communications [Sareed Ahmed Ganie V/s UOI and Anr].Justice Sanjay Dhar made the observation while granting bail to an accused in a case registered the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act (NDPS Act). "As per analysis of the CDR, it appears that the petitioner was in touch with the co-accused during the relevant period. The question arises as to whether the same would be sufficient to prima facie hold that the petitioner guilty of having committed the offence for which he has been booked. In the opinion of this Court, CDR details showing contact between the petitioner and co-accused, without there being any voice recording relating to conversation between them, may not be sufficient to convict the petitioner for the offence for which he has been booked," the Court opined..In 2024, Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) had allegedly recovered 220 bottles of Codeine-based syrup, more than 14,000 Spasmo Proxyvon Plus capsules and 3,000 Alprazolam tablets from two accused travelling from Delhi to Jammu. The NCB alleged that the consignment was to be delivered to petitioner Sareed Ahmed Ganie and arrested him. Subsequently, he was denied bail by the trial court, prompting him to approach the High Court..The High Court in the order dated October 18 found that besides the CDRs, the only other material against him was the confessional statements of co-accused recorded under Section 67 of the NDPS Act.The Court agreed with the petitioner counsel's submission that the same were inadmissible in evidence in view of the Supreme Court’s ruling in Tofan Singh v. State of Tamil Nadu (2021)."In the face of aforesaid nature of material on record against the petitioner, it can safely be stated that there are reasonable grounds to believe that the petitioner is not guilty of offences under Sections 8/21/22 & 29 of the NDPS Act. Thus, he has been able to carve out a prima facie case for grant of bail," the Court ruled, while ordering release of the accused. .Advocates Mehtab Gulzar and Murtaza Kamaal appeared for the petitioner.Deputy Solicitor General Vishal Sharma with Advocate Suman Sudan appeared for NCB.[Read Order].Follow Bar and Bench channel on WhatsAppDownload the Bar and Bench Mobile app for instant access to the latest legal news.