Bail refused for commercial quantity NDPS offences notwithstanding medical license and supply chain involvement.

On March 9, 2025, police acted on an informant's tip and seized 55 bottles of Onerex cough syrup (containing Codeine) from co-accused Athraw @ Soumy Singh and Yogesh Sahu in Bilaspur

During the investigation, the co-accused and another individual named Rituraj provided memorandum statements implicating the applicant, Krishna Kumar Barnwal, as part of the supply chain

The applicant was arrested on July 7, 2025, and charged under Sections 21, 22, and 29 of the NDPS Act

The applicant, a licensed medical agency owner, filed this first bail application under Section 483 of the Bhartiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, arguing that he was falsely implicated based on inadmissible statements and had no conscious possession of the contraband

Whether the applicant is entitled to regular bail under Section 483 of the Bhartiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, in light of the recovery of a commercial quantity of a prohibited narcotic substance and his alleged role in the organized supply chain

The court applied Sections 21, 22, and 29 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985, which govern the punishment for contravention in relation to psychotropic substances and criminal conspiracy

It considered the procedural requirements for regular bail under Section 483 of the Bhartiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023

Furthermore, the court noted the applicant's reliance on Tofan Singh v. State of Tamil Nadu, which establishes that confessional statements made to officers under Section 67 of the NDPS Act are inadmissible as evidence

The court examined the nature and gravity of the allegations, specifically the recovery of 55 bottles of Codeine-based syrup, which exceeds the commercial quantity threshold

While acknowledging the applicant’s defense that he is a licensed medical professional and that his implication was based on memorandum statements and WhatsApp chats, the court found that the material sufficiently indicated his role in an organized illicit trafficking supply chain

The court reasoned that the commercial volume of the prohibited substance and the organized nature of the trade outweighed the applicant's claims of innocence and lawful business activities at the bail stage

It held that due to the seriousness of the offense and the commercial quantity of the contraband seized, the applicant was not entitled to be released on bail

The trial court was directed to proceed with and conclude the trial expeditiously