JAMMU, Aug. 19 -- The High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh has ruled that mere recovery of contraband from an accused cannot establish the offence of financing illicit traffic under Section 27-A of the NDPS Act, while granting bail to a Samba resident arrested in a narcotics case.
Justice Rajesh Sekhri delivered the judgment while hearing three connected petitions arising from FIR No. 99/2024 of Police Station Vijaypur, in which police had intercepted a Swift car and recovered 16.82 grams of heroin, cash of ?6.13 lakh and a weighing machine from its driver, Mohd. Aslam. The trial court had earlier framed charges under Sections 22 and 27-A of the NDPS Act and declined bail to the accused.
Observing that Section 27-A prescribes string...