Anarchy would ensue if courts were guided merely by statements of other persons found with drugs: Calcutta HC

The Calcutta High Court on Friday highlighted that courts have to be guided by hard facts and material to even form a prima facie opinion while granting bail to a man accused of being a drug kingpin (In the matter of: Hiten Roy @ Hiru)..The accused was arrested on the basis of statements made by others found possessing drugs. While passing the order, the Court also remonstrated the investigating agency for its tardiness in the conduct of the investigation. .Justices Sanjib Banerjee and Aniruddha Roy opined that it was "more than likely that the present petitioner may be the kingpin of the racket." .However, the Bench added that investigating authorities had not produced sufficient material to indicate the involvement of the bail applicant. .The Court noted:"It is elementary that some nexus of the arrested person with the commission of an offence must be evident for a prima facie view in such regard to be formed by the court.".In this case, the Bench noted that the investigating agency had taken no steps to unearth any material against the bigger players and that mere statements of persons found in possession of contraband were relied upon to arrest the petitioner/bail applicant..Given that the investigating agency's charges relied only upon the statements made by certain dealers ('mules'), the High Court emphasized that there must be independent material to corroborate these findings and make out a prima facie case. .Elaborating further upon this theme, the Bench expounded upon the dangers of a lax approach when it comes to narcotics cases.."Courts cannot go by impression and hard facts and material are necessary even to form a prima facie opinion... If the courts were to be guided merely by the statements or alleged statements of the persons found to be in possession of contraband, there would be anarchy. Nothing stops the investigating agency from naming any person against whom the investigator may have an axe to grind and suggest that such person was named by the arrested possessor of drugs."Calcutta High Court.This was particularly important in investigations into narcotics offences because tardy investigations could allow the big fish to escape, the Court added.."It appears that gaps are deliberately left for the bigger fish to slip out", the Bench remarked further. .Ultimately, the bail applicant, Hiten Roy, was allowed on bail, subject to a payment of a bond of Rs 50,000, and two sureties. One surety was to be a local inhabitant within the jurisdiction of the Trial Court.."Any unexplained absence will entitle the trial court to cancel the bail without reference to this court", the Judges warned the applicant..Advocate Sayan De represented the applicant and Advocates Aditi Sankar Chakraborty and Tapan Bhattacharya argued for the State..Read the Order here: