HC grants bail to a couple who trafficked charas from Kashmir on family trips

Mumbai : The Bombay high court (HC) last week granted bail to a couple who ‘frequently’ visited Kashmir on family trips and brought huge quantities of charas to the city.
The woman, Cynthia Udanshive, was arrested in October 2021 along with her husband, Jasar Shaikh, their child, and her parents who were allegedly found carrying 24 kg charas with them. Acting on a specific tip-off, the Dahisar police had on October 25, 2021, intercepted their car at the Dahisar check post.

On checking the car, the police claimed to have found 16 kg charas hidden in door cavities and in the trunk of the Santro car and an additional 8 kg from Cynthia’s father Bandu Udanshive. Investigation revealed that the family was going to Jammu and Kashmir, ostensibly on family trips, and used to return with huge quantities of Charas. Later, the police also arrested their purported supplier, Gulzar Khan, a local resident of Kashmir.

The couple had, however, sought bail on the ground of parity – claiming that Cynthia’s mother, Clara was already granted bail in September 2023 and later the alleged supplier was also set at liberty on the grounds that the police had failed to adhere to the statutory mandate of Sections 42(2) and 52A of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985. They also claimed that they have been incarcerated for over two-and-half years and the trial was not likely to start in the near future.

The single-judge bench of justice NJ Jamadar accepted their arguments and allowed their separate pleas. The court granted bail to Cynthia primarily in view of her long pretrial incarceration of almost two years and 10 months.

“Having regard to the large pendency of the cases, it is extremely unlikely that the trial can be concluded within a reasonable period. The statutory restrictions in the matter of grant of bail meltdown in the face of a long period of incarceration without a prospect of the expeditious conclusion of the trial,” the bench said while granting her bail. As regards her husband, the court said that the issue of non-compliance with the mandate of section 52A, which requires samples to be taken before a magistrate in a reasonable period, cannot be brushed aside lightly, as it is likely to affect the outcome of the trial and therefore on parity with Khan, Shaikh too was entitled to bail.

CNI