Bombay HC grants bail to couple after drug seizure by constable-rank officials

A couple arrested with a commercial quantity of drugs and imprisoned for the past 14 months have been granted bail by the Bombay High Court (HC). The court observed that an officer of a rank higher than a constable did not conduct the search and seizure of the drugs.

In the bail order, the Bombay HC stated: “The seizure Panchanama shows no evidence that the search was conducted by an officer superior in rank to a constable. Therefore, prima facie, there appears to be non-compliance with Section 42 of the NDPS Act. The applicants have been in jail for over a year, and no criminal antecedents exist against them. Given this, the court was inclined to grant bail to the applicants under certain conditions.”

According to police sources, constables Laxman Dhengale, Vishal Dalvi, Maruti Pardhi, Vishal Shinde, and other staff from Mundhwa Police Station were conducting crime prevention patrolling in Pune City around 2 pm on August 14, 2023, ahead of Independence Day. While patrolling near Mundhwa Chowk, they noticed a red TVS two-wheeler behaving suspiciously. When they attempted to stop it, the two riders tried to flee. However, the police team managed to intercept them.

The suspects were identified as Sagar Bhosle, 26, and Radhika Dalaram Sutar, 29. During the search, the police recovered 156 g of MD (valued at Rs 31,24,600) and 550 g of cocaine (valued at Rs 1.11 lakh), along with two mobile phones, an electronic weighing scale, and plastic bags from Bhosle. From Sutar, they found 52 g of MD worth R10,54,400. The total value of the seized drugs was Rs 44.11 lakh.

During further investigation and interrogation, Bhosle admitted to sourcing the MD from a person named Wasim in Vashi, Navi Mumbai, and the cocaine from Ajit Singh Bhagwaniya in Pune. Sutar was reportedly involved in the possession and possible distribution of the drugs.

All the seized items, including the drugs, weighing scale, mobile phones, and vehicle, were confiscated. Both accused were booked under various sections of the NDPS Act for illegal possession and intent to distribute narcotics. An FIR was registered at Mundhwa police station, and the duo was sent to jail.

The police later expanded the investigation and arrested several other individuals linked to the case. However, all of them were released on bail except for the two main accused, Bhosle and Sutar, who remained in custody after applying for bail at the Bombay High Court.

Advocate Ali Kaashif Khan Deshmukh, along with Hitanshi Gajari, represented the accused in Bombay HC and applied for their bail. Last month, Justice NR Borkar granted them bail on a bond of Rs 25,000, along with two sureties of the same amount.

Speaking to mid-day, Advocate Deshmukh said, “The duo accused were arrested from Pune with their two-wheeler vehicle. The whole arrest was illegal as the police did not follow the mandated procedure of seizure under Section 42 of the NDPS Act. None of the accused were searched by police officials above the rank of constable.”