The court determined that the non-commercial quantity of heroin possessed allows for regular bail conditions rather than the strictures of Section 37 NDPS Act.

JUDGMENT :

ANOOP CHITKARA, J.

1. The petitioner incarcerated in the FIR captioned above had come up before this Court under Section 483 of Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, [ BNSS ], seeking regular bail.

2. Per paragraph 9 of the bail petition, the petitioner has no criminal antecedents.

3. The facts and allegations are taken from the status report filed by the State. On 11- 06-2025, based on a chance recovery, the Police seized 150 grams of heroin from the petitioner’s possession. The Investigator claims to have complied with all the statutory requirements of the NDPS Act, 1985, and the BNSS , 2023.

4. The petitioner's counsel seeks bail on the grounds of prolonged pretrial custody.

5. The petitioner's counsel prays for bail by imposing any stringent conditions and contends that further pre-trial incarceration would cause an irreversible injustice to the petitioner and their family.

6. The petitioner’s counsel submits that the petitioner would have no objection whatsoever to any stringent conditions that this Court may impose, including that if the petitioner repeats the offense or commits any non-bailable offense which provides for a sentence of imprisonment for more than seven years, or commits any offence under the NDPS Act, where the quantity involved is more than half of the intermediate, or commercial quantity, or violates S. 19, or 24, or 27-A of the NDPS Act, the State may file an application to revoke this bail before the concerned Court having jurisdiction over this FIR, which shall have the authority to cancel this bail, and may do so at their discretion, to which the petitioner shall have no objection.

7. The State’s counsel opposes bail and refers to the status report.

8. As per paragraph 7 of the status report, the contraband is 150 grams of heroin.

9. Dealing in 150 grams of heroin in contravention of the NDPS Act, 1985, constitutes an offense under the following provisions and notifications:

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10. Given the quantity involved, rigors of Section 37 of NDPS Act would not apply in the present case.

11. Section 2 (vii-a) of the NDPS Act defines commercial quantity as the quantity greater than the quantity specified in the schedule. (xxiii-a) defines a small quantity as a quantity less than the quantity specified in the table of the NDPS Act. The remaining quantity falls in an undefined category, generally called an intermediate quantity. All sections in the NDPS Act specify an offence and mention the minimum and maximum sentence, depending upon the quantity of the substance. The commercial quantity mandates a minimum sentence of ten years of imprisonment