Mask and Face must face same consequences: SC stays HC bail, sends Rs 3,000 crore drug case accused to jail | India News
NEW DELHI: “Mask must face the same consequences as the Face”, “If your masters are in jail, you will serve them better by being there, not outside” – were the caustic remarks by Supreme Court on Thursday as it send back to prison an accused who was granted bail by the Punjab and Haryana HC in a huge narcotic drug trafficking case.The case related to seizure of 5,000 tablets of tramadol from one Ashu Arora last February in Amritsar and subsequent unearthing of an inter-state illegal drug trafficking syndicate. Senior advocate Maninder Singh, appearing for the accused, argued that HC had granted bail six months ago putting a premium on the liberty of citizens and because of his illegal custody.A bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana asked, given the gravity of the crime, a Rs 3,000 crore illegal drug trafficking syndicate and seizure of 5,000 Tramadol tablets, can the illegal detention prior to arrest vitiate the arrest itself as has been cited by the HC?When Singh said that his client, Anuj Kumar Singh, was a mere employee of those who were allegedly running the inter-state drug trafficking network, the bench said, “You are a ‘mukhota’ (mask) which was as much involved in the crime as the face itself.”“When your masters are in jail, you can serve them better by being there with them, not outside,” the bench said while expressing serious concern over the menace of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances in the state. The senior advocate said that there was no evidence of any seizure of drugs from his client.The bench said, “In a game of football, there are 11 players but all of them do not have possession of the ball simultaneously.” The counsel said his client was not even a 12th player. Switching to cricket from football, the bench said, “He was either a cover or an extra-cover.”The bench said it would cancel the bail, ask the prosecution to complete the trial in one year and if it does not complete, then the accused can apply for regular bail. When Singh protested saying the accused had cooperated with the investigation and regularly attended trial while being on bail, the bench said, “For a Rs 3,000 crore drug trafficking case, one year in jail is nothing.”
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It asked the accused to surrender within two weeks and asked him to respond to the Union govt’s appeal against HC order granting bail.When Singh cited the HC’s decision to grant bail because of illegal custody prior to arrest and the premium it put on liberty, the bench said, “We also continuously ruled in favour of preserving liberty if there are other redeeming features. In your case, we do not find your cooperation in investigation or attendance of trial in the face of nature of crime and the restrictions in law to be a very relevant redeeming feature. Your arguments are most persuasive. In any other case we would have agreed with you.”
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