Sharafat Sheikh’s Bail Application: Delhi HC Issues Notice To Police In NDPS Case

The Delhi High Court on Friday has issued a notice to the Delhi Police on a bail application of accused Sharafat Sheikh in an NDPS case. The next hearing has been scheduled for April 6.

On Friday, Justice Yogesh Khanna issued a notice to the Delhi Police Crime Branch, directing a response.

On the basis of parity and the merits of the case, Sheikh requested regular bail. This case is linked to the arrest of three kilogrammes of heroin in July 2020.

The current case was filed in 2020, and the petitioner and his son were apprehended in Mumbai in August of that year. The Delhi High Court granted bail to his son.

Advocate Urooj Ahmed Khan filed petition of Sharafat Sheikh. The investigation, according to reports, has been completed, and a charge sheet has been filed. The petitioner has been detained since August of 2020.

The petitioner claims he was unaware of the alleged offence. There was no recovery from the petitioner. The Call Details Record (CDR) and disclosure statements of other accused persons are the only evidence against the petitioner.

On December 17, 2022, the trial court dismissed his previous bail.

While dismissing Sharafat Sheikh’s bail application, the court noted that the petitioner is involved in 85 criminal cases, including NDPS Act cases, and has been convicted in one NDPS matter and various other matters.

The petitioner claims that the trial court did not consider the current case on its merits and instead denied his bail application based on his prior criminal record.

According to the petition, the trial court granted regular bail to the co-accused persons, Wasim Sheikh, Mohd. Faisal for a similar role. As a result, it would not be justified to deny the petitioner’s bail solely on the basis of his prior antecedents without discussing the petitioner’s case on merit.

According to the prosecution, on July 23, 2020, the crime branch arrested the co-accused, Rafiq, who brought the heroin from Mandsaur, MP, and Rajasthan and supplied it in Delhi in a car with his associate Nasir.

Both accused were apprehended, and 3 kg of heroin was recovered from the accused Mohd. Rafiq alias Peer Ji alias Ibrahim’s possession.

According to the prosecution story, the alleged disclosure statement of both the above-mentioned accused persons, and per their disclosure statement, the name of the petitioner appeared in the present case along with his son, Wasim Shiekh, and Faisal, who is also a co-accused in the present case.

According to the disclosure statement, they work for the petitioner as well as his son Wasim, who used to deliver heroin to the petitioner from Mandsaur, MP.

It is also argued that, aside from the disclosure statement, there is no incriminating evidence against the petitioner to link him to the current case in any way; the fact of the matter is that the petitioner is not even remotely connected to the current case; it is undeniable that the petitioner and the other co-accused, namely Nasir Hussain, Wasim, and Mohd. Faisal, live in the same neighborhood.