Delhi HC grants bail to narcotics case accused who was paid Rs. 6 Lakh in Bitcoin

New Delhi [India], January 14 (ANI): Delhi High court on Friday granted bail to an accused in drugs related case who was allegedly paid Rs 6 Lakh in Bitcoin. The accused has been in custody since September 2021.

Justice Jasmeet Singh granted bail to Jasbir Singh on furnishing bail bond of Rs One Lakh and two sureties in the like amount. The court said,” In the present case, the applicant has been in custody since September 1, 2021. The investigation is complete. The complaint has already been filed. The custodial interrogation of the applicant is no longer required.”

Despite their involvement and recovery at the instance of other accused, the alleged accused have been granted bail, Justice Singh observed.

The accused Jasbir Singh sought bail in a case registered by PS Narcotics Control Bureau- Delhi Zonal Unit (NCB-DZU), for the alleged commission of the offences punishable under Sections 8(c)/20(b)(ii)(A)/20(b)(ii)(B)/21(b)/22(c)/23/29 of the Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 (“NDPS Act”).
The accused is 26 years old and is a resident of Mogra, Hooghly, West Bengal.

It was stated that the applicant handles and manages a transport business named “Singh Transports” which is owned by his grandfather. It is stated that there are other five cases registered by the NCB, Kolkata, wherein the Applicant is arraigned as an accused but all of them involve a quantity of ganja being less than a small quantity.

As per the case of the NCB, on August 4, 2021, a letter containing secret information was received by NCB-DZU, informing them about several suspected parcels detected by the NCB – KZU at Foreign Post Office, 12, Kiran Shankar Roy Road, Kolkata, West Bengal.

The letter stated that said parcels had come from the United States of America (USA) and were lying at the Post Office for further delivery to various locations in India.

On August 26, 2021, a letter was written by NCB-DZU to the Zonal Director, NCB-KZU, regarding disclosures made by accused Sarvothaman Guhan regarding an alleged transaction of INR 6,00,000/- with the accused through bitcoins. It was also requested in the letter that the Applicant is arrested and handed over to NCB-DZU for further examination.

It is stated that in his statements, the accused admitted and accepted complicity in the commission of NDPS offences and he further identified Sarvothaman Guhan as his online friend.

On September 1, 2021, the accused was arrested under Section 8/20/29 of the NDPS Act, on the basis of recoveries and his confessional statements recorded under Section 67 of the NDPS Act. He has been in custody since then.