The High Court of Bombay at Goa has allowed the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) to approach the Sessions Court for the cancellation of bail granted to three accused in a drugs case, after noting that all of them have been absconding since December 2018.
The accused -- Philip Tayappa Jagli, Sagar Sitaram Mitre and Sujit Bhagwan Kamble -- were granted bail by the Sessions Court despite observing there was sufficient material to establish their involvement in the offence. The agency contended that the accused have since disappeared and are untraceable, amounting to a clear violation of bail conditions.
In its criminal application before the High Court, the NCB stated that the Sessions Court had granted bail solely by relying on the Supreme Court judgment in Mohan Lal vs State of Punjab (2018), which held that in cases where the investigating officer and the complainant are the same, bail should be granted due to the possibility of manipulation.
Appearing for the NCB, Deputy Solicitor General of India Pravin Faldesai told the Bench of Justice Suman Shyam that the legal position laid down in Mohan Lal is no longer good law. He submitted that the accused had jumped bail and that their continued absence itself justified cancellation of bail. “All three accused are absconding and traceless,” Faldesai informed the court, adding that the bail conditions had been blatantly violated.
The High Court also took note of the fact that notices in the present petition had been duly served on the accused, but none of them appeared before the court. The Bench observed that their failure to respond further strengthened the NCB’s claim that they had deliberately evaded the process of law.
The Bench accepted Faldesai’s submission that the whereabouts of the accused persons are not known. “If that be so, it prima facie appears that the respondents 1, 2 and 3 have jumped/violated the bail conditions laid down in the order dated December 18, 2018. In these circumstances, the best course of action for the NCB would be to move the Sessions Court seeking cancellation of the bail,” it said.
“As such, by granting leave to the applicant to move the Sessions Court seeking cancellation of bail of the respondents, this application is disposed of.”
