The of Special Judge NDPS Cases) Srinagar presided by Vinod Kumar rejected the bail application moved by one Muzafar Ahmad Bhat of Waza Bagh, Hyderpora, Srinagar in connection with FIR 45/2023 registered at police station Chanapora, Srinagar under Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act.
The court opined that factor of the drug menace in the valley of Kashmir, and in Srinagar in particular, has assumed alarming proportions to militate against the grant of bail to the applicant-Bhat.
"It is a matter of public knowledge that substance abuse is destroying the lives of young boys and girls. As per reports, narcotic substance abuse is on the rise in Kashmir, with approximately 90% of patients at Drug De-addiction Centres being found addicted to drugs", the court said in its judgment.
The court further added that the courts are duty-bound to take cognizance of this grave societal crisis while exercising their discretion in bail matters. The release of an accused involved in commercial quantity trafficking would send a wrong signal to the drug peddlers and would be antithetical to the legislative purpose behind the NDPS Act
"…the failure of the applicant to satisfy the mandatory twin conditions envisaged under Section 37(1)(b)(ii) of the NDPS Act, the bail application filed on behalf of the applicant/accused Muzafar Ahmad Bhat stands rejected", the court concluded.
The court found that the prosecution has placed on record material which, at a prima facie stage, connects the applicant to the offence of possession and sale of commercial quantity of contraband substance and in these circumstances, is unable to form an opinion that there are reasonable grounds for believing that the applicant-Bhat is not guilty of the offence charged against him.
The Special Public Prosecutor has vehemently opposed the bail application and has submitted that the present case involves recovery of a commercial quantity of contraband, i.e., 90 bottles of Codeine Phosphate, which falls within the purview of commercial quantity under the NDPS Act, and the offence carries imprisonment which may extend up to 20 years along with a fine up to Rs. 2 lakh.
The prosecutor further submitted that the release of the accused-Bhat would have a deleterious impact on society and would send wrong signals to the younger generation.