In a notable legal development under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985, the Special NDPS Court in Bengaluru has granted bail to a 31-year-old Nigerian national, Augustine Eboma, alias Tony. The XXXIII Additional City Civil and Sessions Judge and Special Judge for NDPS cases, Smt. B.S. Jayashree, allowed Criminal Miscellaneous Petition No. 6431/2022, observing that the quantity of contraband seized fell under the intermediate category, thereby exempting the case from the rigorous statutory restrictions of Section 37 of the NDPS Act.
The criminal proceedings originated from a patrol operation conducted by the Hennur Police Station. On June 25, 2022, around 12:00 PM, police officers patrolling near Garudacharapalya on Goshala Road observed a man carrying a bag and attempting to sell items to the public while speaking in Hindi. Police officers surrounded and apprehended the suspect, who revealed his identity as Augustine Eboma, residing at Priyanka Layout in Electronic City, Bengaluru, and hailing from Delta Street, Agbor, Nigeria. Upon searching his bag, law enforcement recovered 2 kilograms and 550 grams of ganja. The police seized the contraband under a spot panchanama and registered Crime No. 174/2022 under Section 20(B) of the NDPS Act and Section 14 of the Foreigners Act, subsequently remanding the accused to judicial custody.
Appearing for the petitioner, advocate AK.M. filed a petition under Section 439 of the Code of Criminal Procedure seeking release on bail. The defense argued that Augustine Eboma was innocent, law-abiding, and falsely implicated by extraneous elements. Counsel contended that mandatory statutory safeguards, including Section 50 of the NDPS Act, were not complied with during search and seizure. It was further submitted that the seized quantity was non-commercial, the petitioner had no prior criminal antecedents, and he was the sole breadwinner for his family, willing to abide by any judicial conditions imposed by the court.
The prosecution strongly opposed the bail application, contending that the accused was found in possession of 2.550 kg of ganja, an offense carrying rigorous imprisonment extending up to 10 years. Asserting that the petitioner was a habitual drug offender, the Public Prosecutor expressed concerns that the accused might abscond, protract the trial, or tamper with prosecution witnesses if released on bail.
Delivering the judgment on July 11, 2022, Judge B.S. Jayashree analyzed the legal classification of the seized substance. Under Ministry of Finance Notification S.O.1055(E) dated October 19, 2001, up to 1,000 grams of ganja is classified as a small quantity, while 20 kilograms constitutes a commercial quantity. Consequently, the 2.550 kg recovered in this case qualifies as an intermediate quantity. Relying on the Supreme Court precedent in Birbal Prasad v. State of Bihar (2018 11 SCC 488), the court noted that when seized contraband is of non-commercial or intermediate quantity, the stringent restrictions of Section 37 of the NDPS Act do not apply, and standard bail principles govern the consideration.
The court further observed that the primary investigation was largely complete with the seizure of the incriminatory material and the recording of the petitioner’s voluntary statement. Because the alleged offense does not carry life imprisonment or the death penalty, and further custodial interrogation was deemed unnecessary, the court held that prosecution fears regarding flight risk could be addressed through stringent conditions.
Allowing the petition, the court ordered the release of Augustine Eboma on bail subject to executing a personal bond of Rs. 1,000,000 with two sureties of equal amount. The court imposed mandatory conditions requiring the petitioner to mark his attendance at the police station once a month on the first Monday, refrain from leaving the court’s jurisdiction without prior permission, co-operate with the investigation, submit local address and identity proof, and refrain from tampering with witnesses or reoffending while on bail.