Bombay HC grants bail to alleged drug peddler arrested in Oct 2021

The Bombay High Court on Tuesday granted bail to an alleged drug peddler in the 2021 Cordelia cruise drugs seizure case of Mumbai noting there was uncertainty in the seizure of the contraband which prima facie may lead to his acquittalA single bench of Justice N J Jamadar granted bail to Abdul Kadar Shaikh a senior corporate executive who is in jail for more than two years on a personal bond of Rs 1 lakh while noting his long incarceration and right to speedy trialBollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khans son Aryan was also arrested in the highprofile case by the Narcotics Control Bureau NCB and later granted bail by the HC but he was eventually not named as an accusedThe allegation against Shaikh was that he had supplied drugs to some of the coaccused in the case The NCB claimed it had seized contraband from Shaikh at the time of his arrestThe HC in its order noted that prima facie there was discrepancy in the description of the contraband which was allegedly seized from Shaikh and sample collected therefrom and the sample received for analysis by the CFSL Central Forensic Science LaboratoryAs the identity of the sample is in the corridor of uncertainty and the complicity of the applicant is primarily based on the seizure of the contraband from the applicant a prima facie case to hold that eventually the applicant may not be found guilty of the offences can be said to have been made out Justice Jamadar saidThe court also took note of the fact that the trial in the case would not be over soon and Shaikh has been incarcerated for over two yearsA long period of incarceration without a realistic prospect of expeditious conclusion of the trial renders the detention of the accused as an undertrial prisoner foul of the right to speedy trial a facet of right to life and personal liberty guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution of India the HC notedShaikh had approached the HC after his bail plea was rejected by a special Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances NDPS in November 2023Shaikh 30 who worked as a senior executive with a logistics firm was arrested from a bus stop opposite a mall in suburban Juhu on October 3 2021 a day after the NCB raided the Goabound cruise ship Cordelia off the coast of Mumbai on suspicion of drugs onboardHe allegedly had in his possession of 25 grams ecstasy pills and 543 grams mephedrone MD according to the NCBThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever