Bengaluru, August 23, 2022 – The XXXIII Additional City Civil & Sessions Judge and Special Judge (NDPS) in Bengaluru, Smt. B.S. Jayashree, granted bail to three individuals accused of possessing Ganja, ruling that the quantity seized—6 kilograms and 380 grams—falls under the intermediate quantity as defined by the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985. The court held that the strict rigors of Section 37 of the NDPS Act, which governs bail for commercial quantity cases, would not apply.

The order was passed in Crl. Misc. No. 7517/2022, where Aravinda K.R. (Accused No. 1), Pavankumar @ Pandu (Accused No. 2), and Amzad Ithiyar @ Irshad (Accused No. 3) sought relief under Section 439 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (Cr.P.C.) in connection with Crime No. 187/2022 registered by the Begur Police Station.

Case Background and Prosecution’s Allegations

The case was initiated based on credible information received by the Police Inspector (PI) of Begur PS. The gist of the prosecution’s allegation is as follows:

On July 15, 2022, the complainant received information about persons selling contraband near the Devarachikkanahalli bus stop. A suo-moto case was registered under Section 20(b) of the NDPS Act.

Following this, on July 18, 2022, a raid was conducted. Three persons, who were later identified as the petitioners, were apprehended. During the personal search:

• Accused No. 1 (Aravinda K.R.) was allegedly found with 2 Kgs, 130 grams of Ganja, 10 grams of Ganja in small plastic covers, an electronic weighing machine, a school bag, and Rs. 800/- cash.
• Accused No. 2 (Pavankumar @ Pandu) was found with 2 Kgs, 120 grams of Ganja.
• Accused No. 3 (Amzad Ithiyar @ Irshad) was found with 2 Kgs, 130 grams of Ganja.

The total quantity seized from the petitioners amounted to 6 Kgs and 380 grams of Ganja. The accused were arrested and remanded to judicial custody. Further investigation, based on the petitioners’ statements, led to the arrest of Accused Nos. 4 to 7 and the seizure of a massive 168 Kgs, 638 grams of Ganja from a vehicle.

Petitioners’ Grounds for Bail

Represented by Advocate Sri C. Rajanna, the petitioners argued that they were innocent and had been falsely implicated. Their main contentions were:

• The mandatory procedure contemplated under the NDPS Act (Sections 41, 42, 50, 52, and 47) was not properly followed during the recovery and seizure.
• The quantity of contraband seized from them (6 Kgs, 380 grams) is not a commercial quantity.
• The petitioners have no criminal antecedents and are permanent residents, ready to abide by any conditions imposed by the court.

Prosecution’s Opposition

The Public Prosecutor strongly opposed the bail plea, arguing that the petitioners had committed a “heinous offence” and a “huge quantity of ganja” was seized from them and the other accused. The prosecution claimed that the offence is punishable with rigorous imprisonment up to 20 years and sought to invoke the stringent provisions of the NDPS Act. They expressed apprehension that if released, the petitioners would continue their drug dealing profession, tamper with evidence, or abscond.

Judicial Analysis on Quantity and Section 37 Rigors

The court undertook a meticulous analysis of the quantity seized versus the statutory definitions under the NDPS Act.

Referring to the Ministry of Finance Department of Revenue Notification S.O. 1055(E) dated October 19, 2001 (Sl. No. 55):

• Small Quantity for Ganja is defined as 1,000 grams (1 kg).
• Commercial Quantity for Ganja is defined as 20 Kgs.

Since the total Ganja seized from the three petitioners was 6 Kgs, 380 grams, the court unequivocally classified it as an intermediate quantity, falling between the small and commercial limits.

Crucially, the court held that when the quantity is less than the commercial quantity, the rigorous conditions stipulated under Section 37 of the NDPS Act do not attract. Section 37 imposes strict restrictions on granting bail where the offense involves a commercial quantity, requiring the court to be satisfied that the accused is not guilty and is unlikely to commit any offence while on bail.

Reliance on Supreme Court Precedent

To buttress its finding, the court cited the Hon’ble Apex Court judgment in Birbal Prasad Vs. State of Bihar (2018 11 SCC 488). In that case, the Supreme Court held that where the quantity involved was only 14 Kgs of Ganja—a non-commercial quantity—and the accused was not involved in other cases, the accused should be released on bail pending trial.

The court noted that this precedent aptly applied to the case at hand. Considering the quantity was intermediate, the petitioners had no known criminal antecedents, the major portion of the investigation was concluded, and custodial interrogation was no longer necessary, the court found the bail plea to be warranted.

The court acknowledged the prosecution’s apprehension regarding absconding and tampering but held that these concerns could be adequately addressed by imposing stringent conditions.

Final Order and Conditions

Consequently, the petition filed under Section 439 of Cr.P.C. was allowed. Each petitioner was ordered to be enlarged on bail upon executing a personal bond for a sum of Rs. 1,00,000/- (Rupees One Lakh only) with two sureties for the like sum.

The bail was granted subject to the following strict conditions:

1. The petitioners shall appear before the Investigating Officer (I.O.) once a month, preferably on the first Monday of every month, between 10:00 am and 2:00 pm, until the filing of the charge sheet.
2. They shall not leave the jurisdiction of the court without prior permission.
3. They shall not tamper with the prosecution witnesses or abscond.
4. They shall cooperate with the I.O. for investigation.
5. They shall not commit a similar offence or any offence while on bail.
6. They shall furnish their photo ID proof and the photo ID proof of their sureties.
7. They shall appear before the court on all hearing dates.
8. Breach of any of these conditions would entail the cancellation of bail.

The order was pronounced in open court on August 23, 2022.