Bail Granted on Parity After the Supreme Court Released a Co-Accused in a Commercial-Quantity NDPS Case

The applicant sought regular bail under Section 483 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, in a case registered under Section 20(b)(II)(c) of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985.

The prosecution alleged that the applicant and co-accused were in joint possession of 78.106 kilograms of ganja, a commercial quantity.

A co-accused’s bail application had been rejected by the High Court, but the Supreme Court subsequently granted him bail.

The applicant relied on that order and submitted that he had no criminal antecedents.

The State opposed bail, relying on the quantity seized, but did not dispute that the co-accused had been granted bail.

1. Whether the applicant should be granted regular bail on the ground of parity with a co-accused who had been granted bail by the Supreme Court.

2. Whether the alleged commercial quantity of ganja and the circumstances of the case precluded granting bail.

The Court considered the application under Section 483 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, for regular bail in an offence alleged under Section 20(b)(II)(c) of the NDPS Act.

It applied the principle of parity, taking account of the Supreme Court’s grant of bail to a co-accused in the same case and the applicant’s lack of criminal antecedents.

The order does not discuss or set out a separate test under Section 37 of the NDPS Act.

The Court considered the seriousness of the alleged offence and the substantial quantity of ganja, but weighed those circumstances against the Supreme Court’s subsequent grant of bail to the co-accused, whose bail had earlier been rejected on merits by the High Court.

In light of that order and the applicant’s lack of criminal antecedents, the Court found parity a sufficient basis to grant bail, without commenting further on the merits of the case.

It directed that the applicant be released on executing a personal bond of ₹50,000 with one surety for the like sum, to the satisfaction of the trial Court.

Bail was subject to conditions prohibiting interference with witnesses or the fair trial and requiring the applicant to attend each trial-court hearing until conclusion of the trial.