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IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI
SANJEEV NARULA
Saneesh Soman – Appellant
Versus
Narcotics Control Bureau – Respondent
JUDGMENT :
SANJEEV NARULA, J.
1. Through the present petition under Section 483 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, [“BNSS”] (formerly Section 439 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, [“Cr.P.C.”]), read with Section 37 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985[“NDPS Act”], the Petitioner seeks bail in NCB Case No. VIII/24/DZU/2023. This case relates to offences under Sections 8(c), 20(b), 22(c), 23(c), 27-A & 29 of the NDPS Act, which is currently pending before the Special Judge (NDPS-12), Patiala House District Court, Delhi.
Factual Background
2. The case of the prosecution, in brief, is as follows:
2.1 Acting on specific intelligence, the Narcotics Control Bureau[“NCB”] apprehended one Gajender Singh, aged approximately 23–24 years, at the DTDC Courier Office, Laxmi Nagar, Delhi, while he was attempting to book a parcel. Upon search of the said parcel, 15 LSD paper blots weighing 0.3 grams were recovered from his possession. Following this, a preliminary inquiry was conducted, and based on Gajender’s instance, a further search at his residence led to the recovery of an additional 650 LSD blots in his presence.
2.2 In his statement under Section 67 of
Lack of direct evidence of conscious possession under NDPS Act warrants bail when the prosecution fails to establish knowledge or control over contraband.
The court upheld the presumption of conscious possession under the NDPS Act, emphasizing the burden on the accused to prove otherwise, and denied bail due to the commercial quantity of narcotics invo....
The court emphasized that under Section 37 of the NDPS Act, bail cannot be granted unless there are reasonable grounds for believing the accused is not guilty and unlikely to commit further offences.
The court ruled that mere procedural lapses do not justify bail in cases involving commercial quantities of narcotics, emphasizing the presumption of conscious possession under the NDPS Act.
The judgment established that the gravity of the offence, the impact of the illicit drug trade, and the concept of conscious possession are crucial factors in determining bail eligibility under the N....
Point of Law : Before the Court grants bail to an accused allegedly involved in an offence under the NDPS Act, the Court required to be satisfied that the accused is not guilty of the offence and tha....
The main legal point established in the judgment is the strict application of Section 37 of the NDPS Act in restricting bail for offences involving commercial quantity of narcotics. The court emphasi....
The recovery of contraband, admissibility of section 67 statement, and relevance of forensic mobile extraction report and chats were central legal points established in the judgment.
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