Bombay High Court
Sohail Shaikh S/O Chottan Shaikh vs Union Of India And Anr on 31 August, 2021
Bench: Prasanna B. Varale, N. R. Borkar
wp-2854/21.
SACHIN
RAMCHANDRA
PATIL
Digitally signed by
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY
SACHIN
RAMCHANDRA PATIL CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTION
Date: 2021.08.31
14:54:22 +0530
WRIT PETITION NO. 2854 OF 2021
Sohail Shaikh s/o Chottan Shaikh. ..Petitioner.
Versus
Union of India and Another. ..Respondents.
Mr. Ayaz Khan and Ms. Turpti Khamkar for petitioner.
Ms. Geeta P. Mulekar, APP for the Respondent-State.
CORAM : PRASANNA B. VARALE &
N. R. BORKAR, JJ.
Date : August 31, 2021.
P. C. :
1. Learned counsel for the petitioner submitted that there is
an extreme urgency in the matter and prayed for an interim order. It is
submitted by the learned counsel that if no interim orders are passed,
the petitioner would be subjected to a serious prejudice. Learned
counsel firstly invited our attention to the order of this Court dated
August 12, 2021 whereby notice was issued to the respondents, making
the same returnable on 21st August 2021. Learned counsel then
submitted that respondent no.1 - Union of India through Intelligence
Officer, Narcotic Control Bureau is duly served and service affidavit to
that effect is placed on record. It is then fairly submitted by learned
counsel that in the service affidavit, it is erroneously referred to as
respondent no.2 whereas the Intelligence Officer of Narcotics Control
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Bureau is an officer of respondent no.1 (Union of India.)
2. Be that as it may, learned counsel then invited our
attention to the order passed by the Additional Chief Metropolitan
Magistrate, 8th Court, Esplanade on 7th June 2021 and submitted that the
Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate prima facie found that the
custody of petitioner from 5th June 2021 to 7th June 2021 was not a legal
one and as such directed the Zonal Director of NCB, Mumbai to submit a
report to the Court within 15 days. The perusal of the documents placed
on record shows that an application for the extension of custody remand
was submitted in the Court of Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate,
Esplanade, Mumbai and by the order dated 8 th June 2021, the 3rd Court
Esplanade in charge of the 8th Court Esplanade, Mumbai directed that the
accused be forwarded before the Special Court having jurisdiction. The
order passed on 7th June 2021 is also reproduced in the order dated 8 th
June 2021 passed by the Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, 3 rd
Court, Esplanade Mumbai.
3. Learned counsel then submitted that the petitioner had
filed the present writ petition on 12 th July 2021 and notice was issued by
this Court vide order dated 12th August 2021. Learned counsel then
submitted that the NCB filed a revision application before the Special
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Judge and on an application served on the learned counsel, the counsel
tendered submissions to the Court referring to certain judgments and
prayed for fixing the matter on 7 th September 2021. It was also
submitted in the submission that a writ petition is filed in this Court and
the matter is fixed before this Court on 31 st August 2021, as such there is
no urgency to hear the revision application by the learned Special Judge
and accordingly, the request was made to fix the matter on 7 th
September 2021.
4. Learned counsel for the petitioner then submitted before
this Court that to the utter surprise, the Respondents in an undue haste
prayed for the pre-ponment of matter (Revision Application) and the
learned Special Judge allowed the oral request of the Revision Applicant
and now the matter is posted today before the Special Judge for orders.
The submission of the learned counsel is that in this situation, if any,
order is passed by the Special Judge, the entire purpose of approaching
this Court will be frustrated and the petitioner will have to face
multiplicity of proceeding which will cause serious prejudice to the
petitioner. On these submissions, learned counsel prayed for an interim
order protecting the interest of petitioner.
5. On perusal of the documents placed on record, as well as
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the submissions advanced by learned counsel for the petitioner referred
to by us, we are of the opinion, that the learned counsel for petitioner
has made out a case for grant of an ad-interim order. Accordingly, by way
of an ad-interim order, we direct the learned Special Judge, NDPS,
Greater Mumbai not to proceed with Criminal Revision Application No.
266 of 2021 till 6th September 2021.
6. Considering the extreme urgency in the matter, the writ
petition be listed before the regular bench on 3rd September 2021.
7. All concerned to act upon the authenticated copy of this
order.
[N R. Borkar, J.] [Prasanna B. Varale, J.]
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