2018 P Cr (PLP)

OMAR SIAL, J.

Through this order I will dispose off the captioned bail application filed by the applicant/accused praying that he be admitted to bail in crime number 259/2016 for an offence under sections 6/9(c) of the C.N.S. Act, 1997.

2. Brief facts of the prosecution case are that on 12-9-2016 while the applicant was riding a motorcycle he was stopped and searched by a police party that was on normal patrol duty. On his search two kilograms of charas was found in a polythene bag lying on the petrol tank of the motorcycle. A weapon was also recovered from him. The applicant was arrested and an FIR bearing number 259/2016 for an offence under sections 6/9(c) of the C.N.S. Act, 1997 was registered against him. The applicant applied for bail before the learned Special Court No. II for Control of Narcotic Substances at Karachi, which application was dismissed by the learned trial court on 17-10-2016.

3. I have heard the learned counsel for the applicant as well as the learned APG and have also scanned the documents on file. My observations are as follows.

4. The learned counsel for the applicant has raised only two grounds in support of his application. One, that it was a thickly populated area and no private witness has been cited hence there is a violation of section 103, Cr.P.C.; Two, that the applicant has no past criminal record.

5. As regards the first ground it is pertinent to point out that section 25 of the Control of Narcotic Substances Act, 1997 expressly excludes the applicability of section 103, Cr.P.C. in narcotic cases. The same observation has also been made by a Full Bench of the Hon'ble Supreme Court in Tariq Mehmood v. The State reported at PLD 2009 Supreme Court

39. A similar observation was made by the Hon'ble Supreme Court in Abdul Rasheed v. The State reported at 2009 SCMR

306. In view of the foregoing position under the statutory law and the observations of the Hon'ble Supreme Court, the first argument of the applicant's counsel is devoid of any force.

6. As regards the second ground raised by the learned counsel for the applicant, I am not convinced that non-existence of a criminal record can be made the sole basis for grant of bail.

7. As mentioned above, the learned counsel for the applicant has relied on only two grounds in support of his application. However, in order to do justice to his client, I have also perused the grounds taken in his bail application. Most of the grounds in the bail application are vague and formal. The ground that section 6 of the C.N.S. Act, 1997 is not attracted as the police did not apprehend any purchaser of the narcotics is misconceived as section 6 is also applicable on mere possession of narcotics.

8. Prima facie the applicant was apprehended red-handed in possession of narcotics (charas) weighing two kilograms attracting section 6 and punishable under section 9(c) of the C.N.S. Act, 1997. Section 9(c) of the C.N.S. Act, 1997 provides death or imprisonment for life for a term which may extend to fourteen year and hence this offence falls within the prohibitory clause of section 497, Cr.P.C. At this bail stage the schedule of sentences as given in Ghulam Murtaza v. The State reported at PLD 2009 Lahore 362 will not be applicable in view of the judgment of the Hon'ble Supreme Court in Socha Gul v. The State reported at 2015 SCMR 1077.

9. No ground for being admitted to bail having been made out by the applicant, this bail application is dismissed. These are the reasons for the short order dated. 22nd March 2017. WA/S-54/Sindh Bail refused.