An accused person is entitled to bail if they have no criminal antecedents, have been in custody for a considerable period of time, and there are no reasonable grounds to believe that they will commit a similar offence if released on bail.

1.

Accused

No.1

in

Spl.CC.No.906/2023

pending

before the Court of XXXIV Additional City Civil & Sessions Judge

and Special Judge (for NDPS) Bengaluru, arising out of Crime

No.214/2022 registered by Hebbal Police Station, Bengaluru

City for the offences punishable under Section 8(c) and 22(C)

of Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985, is

before this Court under Section 439 of the Code of Criminal

Procedure, 1973.

2.

Heard the learned counsel for the parties.

3.

On the basis of the credible information received by

CW-1 Mohammed Mukharam, Police Inspector, Anti Narcotics

Wing, Central Crime Branch, Bengaluru City, while he was on

patrolling duty, a raid was conducted in room No.305 of 3rd

Floor, SLN Suites, Vinayak Nagar, Near Baptist Hospital,

Hebbal, Bengaluru, within the limits of Hebbal Police Station,

and two persons were apprehended, who revealed their names

as Mohammad Shabbeer and Yasin Imraj. From the possession

of

Mohammad

Shabbeer

(accused

No.1)

50

grams

of

contraband article alleged to be MDMA was seized and from

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Yasin Imraj (accused No.2) 40 grams of contraband article

alleged to be MDMA was seized. The apprehended accused and

the contraband article seized, which was subjected to

panchanama, were brought to the Police Station and thereafter,

FIR in Crime No.214/2022 was registered against the

apprehended

accused

persons;

they

were

subsequently

produced before the Trial Court and remanded to judicial

custody. Investigation in the case is completed and charge

sheet has been filed and the petitioner is arrayed as accused

No.1 in the charge sheet. His bail application filed before the

Trial Court in Crl.Misc.No.9000/2023 was dismissed on

23.09.2023. Therefore, the petitioner is before this Court.

4.

Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that the

sample of contraband article seized from the petitioner, has

responded positive to the drug known as Methamphetamine.

Accused No.2 has been granted regular bail by this Court in

Crl.P.No.9450/2023. The petitioner has no criminal antecedents

and he is in custody since 08.12.2022. Accordingly, he prays to

allow the petition.

- 4 -

5.

Per contra, learned High Court Government Pleader

opposed the bail petition.

6.

The material on record would go to show that based

on the credible information received, the informant and his staff

had raided room No.305 of 3rd Floor, SLN Suites, Vinayak

Nagar,

Near

Baptist

Hospital,

Hebbal,

Bengaluru,

on

08.12.2022 and had apprehended accused Nos.1 and 2 and

from their possession, contraband article allegedly MDMA was

seized. From the possession of the petitioner herein, 50 grams

of contraband article, which was found in a plastic cover was

seized and the same was weighed along with plastic cover. The

seized

contraband

article

was

thereafter

subjected

to

panchanama and the sample drawn from the seized contraband

article was forwarded for chemical examination to the Forensic

Science Laboratory. The test report issued by the Laboratory on

17.01.2023 would go to show that the sample drug has

responded positive for drug known as Methamphetamine. As

per the relevant Notification issued under the NDPS Act, 50

grams and above quantity of drug known as Methamphetamine

is considered as commercial quantity. Since the contraband

article seized from the possession of the petitioner was weighed

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along with the plastic cover, a doubt arises as to whether the

contraband article seized from the petitioner would amount to

commercial quantity. Accused No.2, from whose possession 40

grams of contraband article was seized has been granted

regular bail by this Court in Crl.P.No.9450/2023. Undisputedly,

the petitioner has no criminal antecedents. Under these

circumstances, I am of the opinion that the petitioner has made

out a case for grant of regular bail.

7.

Accordingly, the petition is allowed. The petitioner is

directed to be enlarged on bail in Spl.CC.No.906/2023 pending

before the Court of XXXIV Additional City Civil & Se