Mumbai, India – July 24, 2025 – In a ruling delivered on September 4, 2018, the Special Court for Greater Bombay granted bail to a 50-year-old woman accused under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, primarily citing significant procedural lapses by the police during her arrest.

Sakina Farookh Qureshi, who was arrested on August 17, 2018, by the Nagpada Police Station for alleged possession of 6 grams of “gard powder” (a contraband substance), was released on bail by Additional Sessions Judge S.V. Yarlagadda.

The prosecution’s case stemmed from a tip-off received by the police, leading to a raid where Ms. Qureshi was found in possession of the said substance. She was subsequently booked under Section 8(c) punishable under Section 21 of the NDPS Act.

During the bail application hearing (Bail Application No. 581 of 2018), Mr. Liman, representing the applicant, argued for bail on grounds of non-compliance with crucial sections of the NDPS Act, specifically Sections 42 and 50. He highlighted that the quantum of 6 grams was not a commercial quantity, thereby not attracting the stringent provisions of Section 37(1)(b) of the NDPS Act, which places a higher burden on the accused for bail.

Conversely, Mr. P.S. Tawade, the Additional Public Prosecutor for the State, vehemently opposed the bail, pointing out that Ms. Qureshi had two more similar cases pending against her in the same court. He argued that this indicated a “modus operandi” to avoid dealing in commercial quantities and thus circumvent Section 37(1)(b). He further contended that Ms. Qureshi had previously been granted bail in other cases on condition of not committing similar offences, which she allegedly breached.

However, the Court meticulously examined the case papers and found merit in the defense’s arguments regarding procedural irregularities. A key observation made by Judge Yarlagadda pertained to Section 50(4) of the NDPS Act, which mandates that the search of a female by an officer should be carried out by another female.

The order noted that while the information leading to the raid was received at approximately 9:15 a.m., and the raid was conducted at 1:15 p.m., providing sufficient time, no woman police personnel were included in the raiding party. Furthermore, it was revealed that Police Constable Wakse, a male officer who had received the initial tip-off, himself frisked the female accused and recovered the contraband from her kurta pocket.

The Court emphasized that no explanation was provided in the case papers for the absence of a woman police officer or why a male constable had to frisk the female accused despite adequate time to arrange for female personnel. The judgment explicitly stated that this was a “violation of express provision of section 50(4) of the NDPS Act.”

The Judge cited the precedent set by the Hon’ble High Court in the case of Miss. Henna Bharat Shah V/s. State of Maharashtra (decided on April 24, 2017), where a similar violation led to the grant of bail. The Court rejected the prosecution’s argument that this ratio was not applicable to the present case.

While the defense also raised concerns about non-compliance with Section 42(1) (regarding the police constable not personally reducing the information to writing), the Court indicated it did not need to delve into those details, suggesting the Section 50(4) violation was a more decisive factor.

Addressing the prosecution’s concern about the two pending similar cases against the applicant, the Court acknowledged their existence but noted that none involved commercial quantities and there had been no convictions against Ms. Qureshi under the NDPS Act thus far.

Considering the non-commercial quantity of the seized substance and the significant procedural lapse under Section 50(4) of the NDPS Act, the Court decided to grant bail, albeit with strict conditions.

Sakina Farookh Qureshi was ordered to be released on a Personal Recognizance (PR) Bond of Rs. 50,000/- with one or two solvent sureties of a like amount, and an additional cash surety of Rs. 25,000/-.

The bail is subject to the stringent condition that she shall not commit any offence under the NDPS Act. A breach of this condition would result in the forfeiture of her cash surety and the immediate cancellation of her bail. Furthermore, she is required to attend the Nagpada Police Station every Tuesday between 10:00 a.m. and 12:00 p.m. until the final report is filed in the case.

The order, dictated and pronounced in open court on September 4, 2018, underscored the judiciary’s insistence on strict adherence to procedural safeguards, even in cases involving serious offenses like those under the NDPS Act.