THE HONOURABLE SMT JUSTICE K. SUJANA CRIMINAL PETITION No.99 of 2025

ORDER:

The present Criminal Petition is filed praying this Court to enlarge the petitioner who is arrayed as accused No.1 in Crime No.233 of 2024 before the Kodad Rural Police Station, Suryapet District, registered for the offences punishable under Sections 29 and 20(b)(ii)(c) of the Narcotic Drugs And Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985, (for short ‘NDPS’) on bail.

2. The brief facts of the case are that on November 17, 2024, at around 16:00 hours, Sub-Inspector of Police, Kodad Rural Police Station, received information about a person transporting ganja from Vijayawada to Hyderabad in a Honda City car with registration number AP 11 AM 9991. The car was intercepted at Chimiryala Cross Road, and the occupant, petitioner/A1, confessed to transporting ganja. A search of the car revealed 37 packets of ganja weighing 37.46 kg, which were seized. Petitioner confessed to have acted on instructions from A2, who had provided the car and an advance payment of Rs. 3 lakhs to transport the ganja. The seized ganja and petitioner were taken to the police station, and a case was registered against petitioner and A2. Aggrieved thereby, this Criminal Petition is filed.

3. Heard Sri P.Prabhakar Reddy, learned counsel for petitioner, and Sri Syed Yasar Mamoon, learned Additional Public Prosecutor appearing on behalf of respondent – State. 4. Learned counsel for the petitioner submitted that the petitioner is innocent of the alleged offences and has been falsely implicated with the intention of harassment. He contended that the petitioner confessed to be merely the driver of the car, acting on the instructions of A2, and not the owner of the ganja. He asserted that the petitioner had allegedly received an advance payment of Rs.3 lakhs and was promised an additional remuneration. He averred that the petitioner was unaware of the address or location where the ganja was available and that A2 had avoided disclosing this information. Furthermore, as per the petitioner, A2 is the actual purchaser of the ganja and that the Sub-

Inspector of Police failed to follow the proper procedure under the NDPS Act when seizing the contraband. He submitted that the petitioner, a resident of Gandhi Nagar, Barshi village, Solapur district, has been in judicial custody since his arrest on November 17, 2024, and fears that further detention will cause irreparable harm to his family, as he is the sole earning member. Therefore, he prayed the Court to grant bail to the petitioner by allowing this criminal petition.

5. On the other hand, learned Additional Public Prosecutor opposed the submissions made by the learned counsel for the petitioner stating that the quantum of recovery of contraband constitutes commercial quantity and that the same was in possession of petitioner, on obtaining instructions from A2 to transport the same in the vehicle under bearing No.AP 11 AM 9991. He contended that releasing the petitioner on bail, could lead to him committing similar offences. Therefore, prayed the Court to dismiss the criminal petition.

6. Having regard to the rival submissions made and on going through the material placed on record, it is noted that a search of the said car revealed 37 packets of ganja weighing 37.46 kg, and the said contraband is commercial quantity. That being so, it is relevant to extract Section 37 of the NDPS Act, which reads as under:

“37. Offences to be cognizable and non- bailable. -- (1) Notwithstanding anything contained in the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (2 of 1974),--(a) every offence punishable under this Act shall be cognizable;

(b) no person accused of an offence punishable for 1[offences under section 19 or section 24 or section 27A and also for offences involving commercial quantity] shall be released on bail or on his own bond unless--

(i) the Public Prosecutor has been given an opportunity to oppose the application for such release, and (ii) where the Public Prosecutor oppo