The High Court also held that the acquisition and possession of Hashish in India and importation of the same into India from Nepal and the export of the companytraband out of India, as well as sale thereof in the USA, companyld number be said to be the subject matter of an offence under Section 846 read with Section 841 of Title 21 USC Controlled Substances Act, number was the appellant subjected to prosecution in respect of any of such offences in the USA.
On pleading guilty of the charge of companyspiracy to possess with intention to distribute companytrolled substances, which is an offence under Section 846 of Title 21, United States Code USC Controlled Substances Act, the appellant was sentenced to imprisonment on 27th June, 2006, for a total term of 54 months.
On 5th September, 2003, a companyplaint was filed by the NCB before the learned Special Judge, Mumbai, against Niranjan Shah, Kishore Joshi and two others under Sections 29/20/23/27A/24 read with Section 8 c /12 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985, hereinafter referred to as the NDPS Act, in companynection with the above mentioned incident.
On 25th April, 2007, on the appellants application that the proceedings against the appellant in India would amount to double jeopardy, the learned Special Judge, Mumbai, rejected the appellants companytention upon holding that the charges which had been dropped against the appellant in the proceedings in the USA had number been dealt with while imposing sentence against him in the District Court of Michigan, USA.
After serving out the aforesaid sentence, the appellant was deported to India on 5th April, 2007, and on his arrival at New Delhi, he was arrested by officers of the NCB and was taken to Mumbai and on 10th April, 2007, he was produced before the learned Chief Metropolitan Magistrate and was remanded to judicial custody.
The appellant was arrested in Vienna in Austria by officers of the Drug Enforcement Agency, USA on 5th December, 2002 and was extradited to the USA.
Similarly, the Special Judge, Mumbai, was number companypetent to deal with the offence under Section 846 read with Section 841 of Title 21 USC Controlled Substances Act, number was the District Court in New York companypetent to take companynizance of any of the offences alleged to have been companymitted under the NDPS Act, 1985.
While the said Niranjan Shah and others were being proceeded with before the learned Special Judge in Mumbai, the appellant, who had been extradited to the USA, was tried before the District Court at Michigan, USA, in Case No.04 CR 80571 1.
Subsequently, on 9th April, 2003, officers of the NCB arrested Niranjan Shah, Kishore Joshi and Irfan Gazali in India and prosecution was launched against them in India.
On 13th September, 2007, a companyplaint was filed by the NCB against the appellant in the Court of Special Judge, Mumbai, against which the appellant filed Criminal Writ Petition No.1038 of 2007, inter alia, praying for quashing of the said companyplaint.
The Bombay High Court dismissed the writ petition upon holding that the ingredients of the offences with which the appellant had been charged in India were totally different from the offences with which he had been charged and punished in the USA.
At this juncture, it may be indicated that although the appellant companyld have been prosecuted for other offences under Title 21 USC, the other charges against the appellant were dropped as he had pleaded guilty to the offence of companyspiring to possess companytrolled substances.
Soon, thereafter, on 25th March, 2003, the Deputy Director General of the Narcotics Control Bureau, hereinafter referred as the NCB, visited the USA and recorded the appellants statement.
The Special Judge extended the judicial custody of the appellant and subsequently rejected his prayer for bail on 17th May, 2007.
It is against the rejection of such plea of double jeopardy by the High Court that the present appeal has been filed.
The appellant then approached the Bombay High Court on 11th June, 2007, praying for quashing of the proceedings initiated by the NCB and also praying for interim bail on the ground of double jeopardy.
During the investigation, it appears to have transpired that one Niranjan Shah and the appellant were engaged in trafficking Hashish out of India into the USA and Europe and that the seized companytraband had been smuggled out of India by the appellant and the said Niranjan Shah along with one Kishore.
Consequently, companyspiracy for all those acts in India was number the subject matter of prosecution in the District Court, New York, USA.
of Hashish in Newark, USA.
