The Supreme Court has granted bail to a former Border Security Force (BSF) officer, who was arrested in March 2021 in connection with the Handwara narco-terror case.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) arrested Kumar in March 2021 on allegations that he had links to terror outfits carrying out cross-border drug smuggling activities after Rs 91 lakh cash was reportedly found buried in an agricultural land belonging to him in Jammu and Kashmir.
The Bench of Justice Abhay S Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan granted bail last week to Romesh Kumar on the grounds that the trial against him was unlikely to conclude soon since only six of 361 prosecution witnesses have been examined by the trial court so far.
It further took into account the fact that Kumar did not have any criminal antecedents. Kumar was directed to deposit his passport, regularly attend the trial court hearings, and cooperate with the trial court for prompt completion of the trial.
The Bench recorded in its order that in case the former BSF officer delayed the trial in any manner, it would be open for the respondent to apply for the cancellation of his bail.
Kumar was accused of taking cash proceeds from illegal cross-border drug sales while he was on deputation with the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB).
The top court of the country further expressed its displeasure over the
‘strange’ and ‘doubtful’ procedure adopted during the investigation.
Kumar was implicated after witnesses identified him through his photographs instead of a proper test identification parade (TIP) being conducted in the case.
The Bench, however, clarified that its prima facie observation on this aspect should not influence the trial court judgment in the matter.
It further noted that there was no conclusive material to indicate that Rs 91 lakh allegedly recovered from Kumar’s land was drug money. Even a witness/approver has purportedly said that he was unaware of why Kumar was made an accused in this case, it pointed out.
Relying on the legal principles laid down in the 2021 case of Union of India vs KA Najeeb, the top court of the country granted bail to the former BSF officer.
The Bench, however, clarified that its prima facie observations regarding the probe against Kumar must not be viewed as any finding on the merits of the case.
NIA filed a charge sheet in August 2021 naming Kumar as the fourth accused. The former BSF officer and other co-accused presently face charges under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985, and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967.
NIA alleged that Kumar was part of a deep-rooted conspiracy to procure & sell narcotics drugs, and generate funds for terror activities in association with operatives of banned terrorist outfits such as Lashkar-E-Taiba (LeT) & the Hizb-ul Mujahideen (HM).
The Jammu and Kashmir High Court rejected his bail plea in May 2024 on the grounds that it was not possible for the Court at the current stage to conclude that Kumar was not part of the alleged acts of narcotic terrorism only because there was no direct connection between him and the LeT operatives in Pakistan.