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CHEEKATI MANAVENDRANATH ROY
Raju Jat – Appellant
Versus
State of Andhra Pradesh – Respondent
JUDGMENT
1. This criminal petition under Section 439 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 is filed to enlarge the petitioners on bail.
2. The petitioners are A-1 and A-2 in Crime No. 106 of 2021 of Ananthagiri Police Station, Visakhapatnam District.
3. A case under Section 8(c) read with Section 20(b)(ii)(C) of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 (for short 'NDPS' Act) was registered against the petitioners in the above crime.
4. Briefly stated, it is the case of the prosecution that on 29.12.2021, when the police reached the scene of offence and conducting vehicle check on receipt of reliable information relating to illegal transportation of ganja that they found one Maruti Alto car bearing No.GJ 12EE 6721 coming towards them and two persons travelling in the said car tried to escape after seeing the police from some distance. Police apprehended them. When they searched the car, they found ganja with seeds, buds, streams and flowers in a polythene cover in the dicky of the car. Subsequently, when the police got the same weighed, they found that it is 60 KGs of ganja being transported in the said car. Police seized the said contraband and arrested the accused in
The commercial quantity of ganja seized and the application of Section 37 of the NDPS Act influenced the court's decision to dismiss the bail petition.
The possession of a commercial quantity of drugs under the NDPS Act can bar the grant of bail, especially when the accusation is prima facie well founded and the investigation is pending.
The commercial quantity of contraband and prima facie evidence can be considered as grounds for denying bail under the NDPS Act.
The accused were not entitled to claim default bail as the charge sheet had been filed before the expiry of the stipulated period of investigation under the NDPS Act.
The application of Section 37 of the NDPS act and the prima facie well-founded accusation influenced the court's decision to dismiss the bail petition.
The rigour contained in Section 37 of the NDPS Act applies to cases involving commercial quantities of drugs, and bail may be denied based on this provision and the pending investigation.
The court considered the quantity of the seized contraband and the provisions of the NDPS Act in granting bail to the petitioner/A-2.
The decision to grant bail was influenced by the interpretation of the NDPS Act, specifically regarding the small quantity of contraband seized and the absence of evidence of habitual offending.
The bar under Section 37 of the NDPS act applies to cases involving possession of commercial quantities of drugs, influencing the entitlement to bail.
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