Under Section 37 of the NDPS Act, a bail applicant must demonstrate reasonable grounds for believing they are not guilty of possessing a commercial quantity of drugs, and this burden lies with the petitioner.

ANOOP CHITKARA, J. FIR No. Dated Police Station Sections 127 28.11.2022 Payal, Khanna, District Ludhiana 15/25/61/85 of NDPS Act

1. The petitioner incarcerated in the FIR captioned above had come up before this Court under Section 439 CrPC, 1973, seeking regular bail.

2. In paragraph 8 of the bail petition, the accused declares that he has no criminal antecedents.

3. The facts and allegations are taken from the reply filed by the State. On Nov 28, 2022, based on a chance recovery, the Police seized 7 kgs of poppy straw from the petitioner’s possession. The Investigator claims to have complied with all the statutory requirements of the NDPS Act, 1985, and CrPC, 1973.

4. On Nov 29, 2022, during the custodial interrogation, the petitioner made a disclosure statement about concealing more poppy straw, which led to the discovery of 93 kg of poppy straw in his house.

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 State’s counsel opposes bail and submits that the trial is at the stage of 313 CrPC and assures that the State shall not delay the trial.

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7. The petitioner’s arguments did not point toward any material contradictions. It was a case of chance recovery. As such, S. 42 would not apply initially, and recovery was not from the person. As such, S. 50 would also not attract. Non-examination of independent witnesses is not illegal, and its outcome depends upon the nature of evidence tendered in the examination in chief and its cross-examination.

8. Dealing in 100 kgs of poppy straw is a punishable offense under the NDPS Act in the following terms:

Substance Name Poppy straw QuanƟty detained 100 Kg QuanƟty type Commercial Drug QuanƟty in % to upper limit of Intermediate

200.00% Specified as small & Commercial in S.2(viia) & 2(xxiiia) NDPS Act, 1985 NoƟficaƟon No S.O.1055(E) dated 10/19/2001 Sr. No. 110 Common Name (Name of NarcoƟc Drug and Psychotropic Substance (InternaƟonal non-proprietary name (INN) Poppy straw Other non-proprietary name ****** Chemical Name ****** Small QuanƟty 1000 Gram (i.e. equivalent to 1 Kg) Commercial QuanƟty 50000 Gram (i.e. equivalent to 50 Kg) 0 Declared as punishable under NDPS Act and as per schedule defined in S.2(xi) & 2(xxiii) NDPS Act, 1985 NoƟficaƟon No S.15 & S.2(xviii) NDPS Act, S.O.821(E) dated 11/14/1985 Sr. No. S.2(xviii) Common Name (Name of NarcoƟc Drug and Psychotropic Substance (InternaƟonal non-proprietary name (INN) ****** Other non-proprietary name ****** Chemical Name S.2(xviii) “poppy straw” means all parts (except the seeds) of the opium poppy aŌer harvesƟng whether in their original form or cut, crushed or powdered and whether or not juice has been extracted therefrom; S. 2(viiib)] “illicit traffic”, in relaƟon to narcoƟc drugs and psychotropic substances, means— (i) culƟvaƟng any coca plant or gathering any porƟon of coca plant;

(ii) culƟvaƟng the opium poppy or any cannabis plant;

(iii) engaging in the producƟon, manufacture, 2 possession, sale, purchase, transportaƟon, warehousing, concealment, use or consumpƟon, import inter-State, export inter-State, import into India, export from India or transhipment, of narcoƟc drugs or psychotropic substances; S.2 (xvii) “opium poppy” means— (a) the plant of the species Papaver somniferum L;

and (b) the plant of any other species of Papaver from which opium or any phenanthrene alkaloid can be extracted and which the Central Government may, by noƟficaƟon in the Official GazeƩe, declare to be opium poppy for the purposes of this Act;

S2. (xviii) “poppy straw” means all parts (except the seeds) of the opium poppy aŌer harvesƟng whether in their original form or cut, crushed or powdered and whether or not juice has been extracted therefrom;

9. The quantity allegedly involved in this case is commercial. Given this, the rigors of S. 37 of the NDPS Act apply in the present case. The petitioner must satisfy