Under S. 37 of the NDPS Act, bail for commercial quantities of contraband is prohibited unless the court has reasonable grounds to believe the accused is not guilty and is unlikely to commit further crimes, which is further constrained by the accused's criminal antecedents and lack of changed circumstances.

ORDER

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

seeking regular bail.

2. The applicant is the accused in Crime No.

2728/2025 of the Kollam East Police Station, Kollam District. The offence alleged is punishable under Section 20(b)(ii)(C) of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 (for short, NDPS Act).

3. The prosecution case, in short, is that the applicant was found in possession of 22.37 kg of Ganja on 18/10/2025 at 6.50 a.m., in contravention of the NDPS Act and Rules and thereby committed the offence.

4. I have heard Sri.M. Rajesh, the learned counsel for the applicant and Smt.Sreeja V., the learned Senior Public Prosecutor. Perused the case diary.

5. The learned counsel for the applicant submitted that the applicant is innocent and has been falsely implicated in the present case. The counsel further submitted that no materials are on record to connect the applicant with the alleged crime;

hence, he is entitled to bail. On the other hand, the learned Public Prosecutor submitted that the alleged incident occurred as a part of the intentional criminal acts of the applicant, and he is not entitled to bail at this stage.

6. The applicant was remanded to judicial custody on 18.10.2025. A perusal of the case diary would reveal that the accusation against the applicant is very serious, and it prima facie shows a premeditated criminal act on his 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 applicant. Moreover, the applicant has criminal antecedents.

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 applicant is not guilty of the offences charged. The applicant has not been able to point out the existence of any such facts or circumstances as are sufficient to justify recording a finding that he is not guilty of the offences charged.

9. The first bail application was dismissed by this Court, holding that the rigour under Section 37 of the NDPS Act was attracted. There is no change in circumstances. Moreover, the applicant has criminal antecedents and is involved in three other crimes of a similar nature.

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