NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court has said that the pre-trial custody of an accused cannot be permitted to assume the character of “punitive detention” while his guilt is yet to be proved. Justice Anup Jairam Bhambhani said though criminal antecedents were relevant, prior involvement alone without any conviction can’t override all other factors.
The judge made the observation while granting bail to one Yusuf Aajam, who owned a firm named Sunrise Pharmaceuticals, in a drug case, noting that he had been in custody since April 8, 2024, and the case was still at the stage of charge.
The judge noted the status report, which recorded that the trial court was still hearing the arguments and the prosecution had cited 44 witnesses. The court noted co‑accused Rahul Varshney and Tushar Aggarwal, who allegedly formed part of the same transactional chain, have already been granted regular bail and said it was a relevant consideration while assessing parity of continued incarceration of the petitioner.
“Pre-trial detention cannot be permitted to assume the character of punitive detention, especially where trial has not commenced and will inevitably take time, especially in view of the number of witnesses cited by the prosecution,” the judge said.
The judge rejected the prosecution’s contention that Aajam’s role was more serious than his co-accused. “However, the fact that co-accused who are links in the alleged drug trafficking chain have already been granted regular bail is a relevant consideration while assessing parity and proportionality of continued incarceration of the petitioner,” the judge said in an order passed on May 30.
The judge said that the previous involvements attributed to the petitioner did not persuade the court to reject his bail plea outright. “The petitioner has asserted that he has no previous conviction and that he is on bail in the prior NDPS case in which he is implicated. It is the settled position that, though criminal antecedents are relevant, prior involvement alone without any conviction and absent a demonstrated misuse of liberty cannot override all other factors,” the judge said.
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