Failure to specify the quantity of contraband in the grounds of arrest for NDPS offences constitutes a violation of Article 22(1) of the Constitution and Section 47 of the BNSS, rendering the arrest illegal and justifying the grant of bail even to an approver.

ORDER

This application is filed under Section 483 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (for short, BNSS), seeking regular bail.

2. The applicants are the accused Nos.3 and 4 in Crime No.900/2025 of Kallambalam Police Station, Thiruvananthapuram District. The offences alleged are punishable under Sections 22(c) and 29 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 (for short, 'the NDPS Act').

3. The prosecution case, in short, is that pursuant to the conspiracy hatched between the accused to gain illegally by selling psychotropic substances, accused No.1, who was working in Oman brought his wife, the accused No.5 and minor children to Oman. The accused No.1 along with his wife and children returned to India on 09.07.2025. The accused No.1 brought 1.235 Kgs of Methamphetamine under the guise of bringing dates. The accused No.1 along with his wife and children and accused No.2 travelled in a car to their house and accused Nos.3 and 4 took the dates in the vehicle which followed the car in which the accused No.1 was travelling. On getting information about the transaction of contraband articles under the NDPS Act, the police intercepted the vehicle in which the accused were travelling and seized the contraband and thereby the applicants committed the offences.

4. The applicants were arrested on 09.07.2025 and they have been in judicial custody since then. The Additional Sessions Court-II, Thiruvananthapuram, as per its order dated 02.03.2026 in Crl.M.P. No.2/2026 tendered pardon to the applicants and presently their status is that of approvers and not accused. Now, the application for regular bail has been filed on the ground that the requirement of informing the arrested person of the grounds of arrest was not complied with.

5. I have heard Sri.J.R.Prem Navaz, the learned counsel for the applicants and Sri. M.C.Ashi, the learned Senior Public Prosecutor. Perused the case diary.

6. As stated already, inasmuch as the applicants were tendered pardon by the trial court, they cease to be accused. There is a bar under Section 343(4)(b) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (for short, the BNSS) to grant bail to the accused to whom the pardon is tendered under Section 343(1) of the BNSS. However, this Court in Saidevan Thampi and Another v. State of Kerala and Others [2013 KHC 694] has held that Section 306(4)(b) of Cr.P.C. [Section 343(4)(b) of the BNSS] cannot be taken as an absolute prohibition or fetter on the inherent power of the High Court under Section 482 Cr.P.C. (Section 528 of the BNSS) in appropriate cases to release approver from detention on such conditions as the Court deems fit. Here is a case where the applicants contend that their arrest itself is vitiated for non-compliance of Article 22(1) of the Constitution of India and Sections 47 and 48 of the BNSS. Hence, I am of the view that this Court is well within its power to grant bail to the applicants though subsequently they were tendered pardon.

7. Now, it is settled that the requirement of informing the arrested person of the grounds of arrest is mandatory under Article 22(1) of the Constitution of India and Section 47 of the BNSS. It is also settled that in NDPS cases since the quantity of contraband determines whether the offence is bailable or non-

bailable, specification of quantity is mandatory for effective communication of grounds of arrest. I went through the case diary. On a perusal of the case diary it is noticed that separate grounds of arrest were communicated to the applicants as well as to their relatives. However, except mentioning that the arrest is for illegal possession of narcotic drugs, there is no reference to the