Recently, while addressing the challenge to the growing reliance on digital call records in narcotics investigations, the Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh High Court stepped in to examine whether mere phone contact with accused persons could justify continued incarceration in a major heroin trafficking case. The Court scrutinised the prosecution’s attempt to link a Kupwara man to an alleged cross-border drug smuggling network solely through call detail records and WhatsApp contact, raising serious questions about the evidentiary value of phone logs without proof of what was actually spoken between the parties.
The controversy began after police in Srinagar claimed to have busted a heroin trafficking racket in April 2023, recovering 11 kilograms of heroin and over ₹11 lakh in cash from a rented accommodation in Rajbagh. During the investigation, the main accused allegedly disclosed that the narcotics had been procured from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and transported into Srinagar through a wider conspiracy involving several persons, including the Petitioner.
The Counsel for the petitioner argued that no contraband had ever been recovered from him and that the prosecution was attempting to build a conspiracy case only through disclosure statements of co-accused and phone records showing calls exchanged with them. The prosecution, on the other hand, insisted that the petitioner remained in touch with the accused through mobile calls and WhatsApp and had shared his location around the time of the alleged transportation of drugs.
Justice M. A. Chowdhary found the evidence against the petitioner too weak to justify continued detention under the stringent provisions of the NDPS Act. The Court observed, “Without any other evidence from CDRs showing contact between an accused and a co-accused are not sufficient to establish a nexus with drug trafficking, especially without voice recording or transcripts of the conversation.” The Court noted that there was neither any recording nor transcript of the alleged conversations relied upon by investigators and emphasised that “call logs alone cannot prove a criminal conspiracy of sale or transportation of drugs.” Relying on precedents including Tofan Singh v. State of Tamil Nadu and a Delhi High Court ruling in Vinay Dua v. State Government of NCT of Delhi, the Bench observed that disclosure statements and phone records alone failed to satisfy the strict test required for denial of bail under Section 37 of the NDPS Act.
Consequently, the Court allowed the bail plea and directed the petitioner’s release subject to conditions.
Case Title: Abdul Rashid Kohli Vs. Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir
Case No.: Bail App No. 194/2025
Coram: Hon’ble Mr. Justice M. A. Chowdhary
Advocate for the Petitioner: Sr. Adv. S. T. Hussain, Adv. Nida Nazir
Advocate for the Respondent: GA Faheem Nisar Shah, Sr. AAG Mohsin-ul-Showkat Qadri
Read Judgment @Latestlaws.com
Picture Source : twitter.com
