When a commercial quantity of contraband is involved under the NDPS Act, the court is constrained by the strict twin-test conditions of Section 37, requiring reasonable grounds to believe the accused is not guilty and unlikely to commit further offences before granting bail.

ORDER

This application is filed under Section 483 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, seeking regular bail.

2. The applicants are the accused Nos. 2 and 3 in Crime No.1583/2025 of Erattupetta Police Station, Kottayam District. The offences alleged are punishable under Sections 22(c) & 29 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 (for short, NDPS Act).

3. The prosecution case, in short, is that on

24.12.2025 at about 9.30 am, the applicants along with the co- accused were found in possession of 99.073 gm of MDMA at Mandapathipara Bhagam in Poonjar Nadumbhagam Village in contravention of the NDPS Act and thereby committed the offences.

4. I have heard Sri. Praveen S., the learned counsel for the applicants and Sri. M.C. Ashi, the learned Senior Public Prosecutor. Perused the case diary.

5. The learned counsel for the applicants submitted that the applicants are innocent and have been falsely implicated in the present case. The counsel further submitted that no materials are on record to connect the applicants with the alleged crime; hence, they are entitled to bail. On the other hand, the learned Senior Public Prosecutor submitted that the alleged incident occurred as a part of the intentional criminal acts of the applicants, and they are not entitled to bail at this stage.

6. The applicants were remanded to judicial custody on 25.12.2025. A perusal of the case diary would reveal that the accusation against the applicants is very serious, and it prima facie shows a premeditated criminal act on their part. Since the quantity involved is commercial, the jurisdiction of this Court to grant bail is circumscribed by the provisions of Section 37 of the NDPS Act. Bail can be granted in a case where there are reasonable grounds for believing that the accused is not guilty of such an offence and that he is not likely to commit any offence while on bail.

7. The contraband was seized from the possession of the accused No.1. However, it was seized when the accused No.1 was standing along with the applicants. The investigation revealed the involvement of the applicants in the crime. 8. Having considered the submissions and after having gone through the materials on record, I am afraid that there are no substantial or probable causes for believing that the applicants are not guilty of the offences charged. The applicants have not been able to point out the existence of any such facts or circumstances as are sufficient to justify recording a finding that they are not guilty of the offences charged.

Considering the nature of the crime, the gravity of the offence, the complicity of the applicants in it, and the facts and circumstances mentioned above, I am of the view that the applicants cannot be released on bail at this stage. The bail application, accordingly, is dismissed.