Bail may be granted in NDPS cases where the recovered contraband is below the commercial quantity and the accused has no prior history of NDPS offences, even if other criminal antecedents exist.

Order

1. The present bail application under Section 483 of BNSS is filed by the applicant-accused seeking bail in respect of a criminal case registered as FIR No. 65/2026 dated 06.04.2026 registered at P.S. Lohawat, District - Phalodi, for the offence under Sections 8 /18 of NDPS Act .

2. Learned counsel for the applicant submits that the applicant has been falsely implicated in the matter and the investigation against him is complete and he is no more required in investigation. He further submits that there are no chance of fleeing of applicant accused from the jurisdiction of this Hon’ble Court. He also submits that the applicant undertakes not to repeat offence and cooperate with investigation/trial, which will take time.

3. Learned counsel for the petitioner contended that poppy latex was allegedly recovered from a court-yard belonging to present petitioner and the recovered quantity of alleged contraband is 1.359 Kgs., which is less than commercial quantity. It is further contended that three criminal cases were registered against the petitioner and all were under IPC but none of the case was registered under NDPS Act , prior to present case. The petitioner has claimed certain ailment as mentioned by him as a ground to seek bail.

4. Learned Public Prosecutor has vehemently opposed the bail application and submitted that the allegations are grave and serious in nature. He has contended that investigation is still in progress and the petitioner is having a criminal background.

5. Heard learned counsel for the petitioner-accused and learned Public Prosecutor. Perused the material placed on record by both the parties.

6. Considering the fact that the police recovered poppy latex from the courtyard belonging to present petitioner, and that the prosecution seeks to place reliance upon such recovery to attract the alleged offence under Section 8 /18 of NDPS Act . The recovered quantity is less than commercial quantity. The three cases, which were registered against the petitioner on earlier occasions are under IPC or BNS.

7. Upon hearing the arguments and perusing the record, we have found that the applicant-accused is no more required in the investigation and he is in custody for quite some time. The further proceedings will take its own time, therefore, looking to entirety of facts and circumstances of the case and without expressing any opinion on merits of the case, the Court deems it appropriate to grant bail to the applicant-accused.

8. Thus, the instant bail application filed on behalf of applicant-accused Sethu Ram S/o Aaidan Ram, is hereby allowed and the applicant-accused is ordered to be released on bail upon furnishing a personal bond of ₹50,000/- with two sureties of like amount to the satisfaction of the Trial Court with the following conditions:-

(i) The applicant-accused shall not tamper with evidence or influence the witness in any manner.

(ii) The applicant-accused shall not indulge in any criminal activity and shall not repeat any criminal offence punishable under the Law.

(iii) The applicant-accused shall attend the hearing of the Trial Court on the date fixed by the Trial court or as and when asked to appear before the Trial Court.

(iv) In case of any violation of above conditions, the bail granted to the applicant-accused shall be liable to be canceled.

9. The Registry is directed to send a copy of this order to the Trial Court through E-mail.