Bombay high court grants pre-arrest bail to man booked for possession of 3.225 kg ganja

Justice Bharati Dangre granted pre-arrest bail to Deepak Sakat on October 7—the day on which another judge of the high court refused regular bail to Showik (23), the brother of actor Rhea Chakraborty, and Abdel Basit Parhar, a final-year student of architecture

The Bombay high court last week granted anticipatory bail to a Baramati resident from whose house the local police recovered 3.225 kg ganja.

Representational Photo. (Reuters File)

Justice Bharati Dangre granted pre-arrest bail to Deepak Sakat on October 7—the day on which another judge of the high court refused regular bail to Showik (23), the brother of actor Rhea Chakraborty, and Abdel Basit Parhar, a final-year student of architecture. Both of them have been arrested by the Narcotics Control Bureau for allegedly dealing small quantities of ganja, mostly for the consumption of late actor Sushant Singh Rajput.

Justice Dangre granted pre-arrest bail to Sakat primarily on the grounds that seized the contraband material was not of commercial quantity.

“Though it cannot be disputed that the offence is serious, it is to be noted that the quantity seized is not commercial,” said justice Dangre while granting pre-arrest bail to Sakat. “The custodial interrogation, in my considered opinion, is not warranted in view of the fact that the contraband is now seized and nothing remains to be recovered from the present applicant.”

The judge said Sakat was entitled to protection from arrest, also because he had no criminal antecedents.

The police then booked Sakat, his brother and mother under sections 8(A), 20(b)(ii)(B) of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985.

Sakat had moved the high court after his anticipatory bail application was rejected by the sessions judge at Baramati. He had claimed that he was unaware that his mother was consuming drugs and she had the contraband for commercial purposes.

He, however, contended that, in any case, the alleged recovery of the contraband was not of commercial quantity. Besides, the investigation was complete and therefore his custodial interrogation was not necessary.

The high court accepted his contentions and granted him bail.