Gopal Roy @ Gopal Chandra Roy v. State Of West Bengal

30.11.2023 Sl. No.17 akd [ALLOWED] C. R. M. (NDPS) 1840 of 2023 In Re: An application for bail under Section 439 of the Code of Criminal Procedure filed on 26.10.2023 in connection with Islampur Police Station Case No.407 of 2020 dated 22.05.2020 under Sections 20(b)(ii)(c)/23(c) of the NDPS Act. (NDPS Case No.12 of 2020) And In Re: Gopal Roy @ Gopal Chandra Roy ... ... Petitioner Mr. Pronojit Roy ... ... for the petitioner Mr. Arijit Ganguly Ms. Debjani Sahu ... ... for the State

1. It is submitted on behalf of the petitioner that he is in custody for more than three years. It is further submitted there is inordinate delay in trial. Accordingly, he prays for bail.

2. Learned Advocate for the State opposes the prayer for bail and submits three witnesses have already been examined.

3. We have considered the materials on record. Though petitioner is in custody for a protracted period of time, three witnesses have been examined till date. There is little possibility of trial concluding in the near future. Under such circumstances, we are of the opinion petitioner has been able to make out a case of breach of his fundamental right to speedy trial and he is entitled to bail on this score. Bail prayer on the ground of inordinate delay in trial is not fettered by restrictions under Section 37 of the NDPS Act. Reference in this regard may be made to Rabi Prakash vs. The State of Odisha1.

1 2023 SCC OnLine SC 1109

4. Therefore, the accused/petitioner, namely Gopal Roy @ Gopal Chandra Roy, be released on bail upon furnishing bond of Rs.10,000/- (Rupees Ten thousand only), with two sureties of like amount each, one of whom must be local, to the satisfaction of the learned Judge, Special Court under the NDPS Act, Raiganj, Uttar Dinajpur subject to condition that the said petitioner shall appear before the trial court on every date of hearing until further orders and shall not intimidate witnesses or tamper with evidence in any manner whatsoever or commit similar offences in future.

5. In the event he fails to appear before the trial court without any justifiable cause, the trial court shall be at liberty to cancel his bail automatically without reference to this court.

6. The application for bail, thus, stands allowed. (Gaurang Kanth, J.) (Joymalya Bagchi, J.)