In the High Court of Punjab and Haryana at Chandigarh ...... Criminal Misc. No.M-19772 of 2010 ..... Date of decision:1.12.2010 Kuljit Singh alias Gurmit Singh alias Kali .....Petitioner v. State of Punjab .....Respondent .... Present: Mr. S.S. Rana, Advocate for the petitioner. Mr. M.C. Berry, Additional Advocate General, Punjab for the respondent-State. ..... S.S. Saron, J. Heard learned counsel for the parties. The petitioner seeks regular bail in a case registered against him on 13.10.2004 for the offence under Section 15 of the NDPS Act. The FIR in the case has been registered on the basis of a memo sent by Inspector Prithipal Singh, In-charge CIA Staff, Jargon. On 13.10.2004, Inspector Prithipal Singh along with other Police officials was present near Bus Stand Patha Dhua in connection with patrolling and checking of vehicles. At that time, a special informer informed ASI Bakhshish Singh that Kali (petitioner) who is the son-in-law of Dalip Singh, resident of Kulgehna and resident of Village Chaki Dian Channa, Police Station Mehatpur and Neji son of Balbir Singh, resident of Kulgehna, Police Station Sidhwan Bet, who indulge in the sale of poppy husk were coming on the said date to sell poppy husk on a scooter. In case a check-post was set- Cr. Misc. No.M-19772 of 2010 [2] up in Village Balipur Khurd, they could be apprehended with poppy husk. A ruqa (memo) in this regard was sent by Inspector Prithipal Singh to the Police Station for registration of a FIR. While the Police officials went to Village Balipur Khurd and set-up a check-post. During checking, Mohan Singh-an independent witness was also joined with the Police party. In the meantime, two persons were seen coming on a scooter from Village Balipur Khurd. They were carrying two bags of poppy husk on the scooter which were tied with a Parna (cloth) and another bag was also tied on them. The scooter was signalled to stop but the riders ran away from the spot after leaving the scooter along with the bags of poppy husk behind. The two were known to ASI Bakhshish Singh and Mohan Singh independent witness. They asked Kali (petitioner) and Neji (non-petitioner) to stop but they ran away from the spot. The bags were unloaded from the scooter and after opening, they were found to contain poppy husk. Investigation was carried out. The recovered contraband weighed 33 Kgs. in each of the three bags that were recovered. According to learned counsel for the petitioner, the petitioner was not apprehended at the spot and, therefore, he cannot be said to be involved in the carrying of the contraband. Besides, it is submitted that the petitioner is in custody for the last more than one year and only one witness has been examined till date. In response, learned counsel for the State has submitted that the petitioner was a proclaimed offender and he was arrested on 14.11.2009. Besides, it is submitted, on instructions from HC Harpal Singh, Police Station Humbra, Ludhiana that the petitioner is involved in four other cases and, therefore, in case he is granted the concession of bail, he is likely to abscond. Cr. Misc. No.M-19772 of 2010 [3] After giving my thoughtful consideration to the matter, it may be noticed that according to the learned counsel for the State the petitioner is involved in the following cases:- (1) FIR No.8 dated 10.1.2004 under the Punjab Excise Act, registered at Police Station Sidhwan Bet. (2) FIR No.108 dated 9.8.2002 under the NDPS Act registered at Police Station Sidhwan Bet. (3) FIR No.135 of 2008 for the offence under Section 379 IPC registered at Police Station Mehatpur and (4) FIR No.69 dated 20.3.2005 under the Excise Act registered at Police Station Sidhwan Bet. Therefore, the petitioner indeed has propensity towards crime and from the material on record it cannot be said that while on bail he is not likely to indulge in similar activities. The said cases are also pending trial against the petitioner. The contentions of the learned counsel for the petitioner that the petitioner was not apprehended at the spot is to be considered and gone into by the learned trial Court after evidence has been led. ASI Bakhshish Singh and Mohan Singh-independent witness, it is stated, had duly recognized the petitioner and his co-accused Neji at the time when they abandoned the scooter and fled away while leaving three bags of poppy husk behind. In the facts and circumstances, no ground for grant of bail is made out. Consequently, the criminal miscellaneous petition is dismissed. However, keeping in view the fact that the petitioner is in custody for the last one year, it would be just and expedient if the learned trial Court takes effective steps to dispose of the trial in the case as expeditiously as possible Cr. Misc. No.M-19772 of 2010 [4] and preferably within six months from the next date fixed before the trial Court. December 1, 2010. (S.S. Saron) Judge *hsp*