The court held that the stringent bail provisions under the relevant narcotics legislation are not attracted in cases involving the cultivation of prohibited plants. Consequently, where the investigation is complete and the accused is no longer required for further proceedings, bail may be granted.

ORDER :

1. The present bail application under Section 483 of BNSS is filed by the applicant-accused Dhannalal Banjara S/o Aasharam seeking bail in respect of a criminal case registered as FIR No.20/2026 dated 21.02.2026 registered at P.S. Pali, District - Baran, for the offence under Sections 8/18 of NDPS Act.

2. Learned counsel for the applicant submits that the applicant has been falsely implicated in the matter and the investigation against him is complete and he is no more required in investigation. He further submits that there are no chance of fleeing of applicant accused from the jurisdiction of this Hon’ble Court. He also submits that the applicant undertakes not to repeat offence and cooperate with investigation/trial, which will take time.

3. Learned counsel for petitioner submitted that the petitioner was arrested on the allegation that he was cultivating poppy plants in an agricultural field owned by him. He further submitted that the material on record clearly indicates that the land in question is situated in Madhya Pradesh and the same is a forest land. He also submitted that the recovered plants are not classified in any category. He has also placed reliance upon order dated 23.05.2024 in Second Bail Application No. 6376/2024, Guman Singh Vs. State of Rajasthan , decided by a coordinate bench at Principal Seat Jodhpur and order dated 09.04.2026 and on Bail Application No. 3896/2026, Satyanarayan Vs. State of Rajasthan , decided by a Coordinate Bench of this Court. Lastly, he submitted that now the charge-sheet has been filed and the petitioner is in custody since his arrest.

4. Learned Public Prosecutor has vehemently opposed the bail application and submitted that the allegations are grave and serious in nature. He submitted report received from P.S. Pali, District Baran.

5. Heard learned counsel for the petitioner-accused and learned Public Prosecutor. Perused the material placed on record by both the parties.

6. On the basis of information and further order dated 21.02.2026 passed by Learned Chief Judicial Magistrate, Baran, SHO Police Station Pali, District Baran carried out a search, whereby poppy plants were found cultivated on forest land and the police found that Dhannalal, resident of Madhya Pradesh, was present near the plantation. The police has already filed charge sheet under Section 8, 18(c) of the NDPS Act.

7. In case of Guman Singh Vs. State of Rajasthan and others (supra), a Co-ordinate Bench after considering the legal position has granted bail to a person who was charged for the offence of cultivation of poppy plant, observing that Section 37 of the NDPS Act is not attracted in such cases. An identical view was expressed by another coordinate bench in case of Satyanarayan Vs. State of Rajasthan (supra).

8. Upon hearing the arguments and perusing the record, we have found that the applicant-accused is no more required in the investigation and he is in custody for quite some time. The further proceedings will take its own time, therefore, looking to entirety of facts and circumstances of the case and without expressing any opinion on merits of the case, the Court deems it appropriate to grant bail to the applicant-accused.

9. Thus, the instant bail application filed on behalf of applicant-accused Dhannalal Banjara S/o Aasharam, is hereby allowed and the applicant-accused is ordered to be released on bail upon furnishing a personal bond of Rs. 50,000/- with two sureties of like amount to the satisfaction of the Tri