Commercial-quantity NDPS bail denied where call records connect the accused to the offence.

On 18 April 2026, police seized 20 kg of ganja from the alleged joint possession of three co-accused.

The applicant was implicated through the co-accused persons’ memorandum statements; the State also relied on call detail records said to connect him with the offence.

He sought regular bail under Section 483 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, submitting that he had no criminal antecedents, the charge-sheet had been filed, he had been in custody since 20 June 2026, and trial would take considerable time.

The State opposed bail, relying on the commercial quantity seized and the rejection of bail applications by two co-accused.

1. Whether the applicant should be granted regular bail under Section 483 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, in light of the allegations and material relied on by the State.

2. Whether the commercial quantity of ganja and the resulting rigours of Section 37 of the NDPS Act precluded the applicant’s release on bail.

The application was considered under Section 483 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, which provides for the High Court’s power to grant bail.

The alleged offences were under Sections 20(b) and 29 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985, and Section 111(2)(b) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023.

The Court treated the seized 20 kg of ganja as commercial quantity and applied the stringent conditions under Section 37 of the NDPS Act to the bail assessment.

No judicial precedent was cited.

The Court considered the commercial quantity seized, the statutory rigours under Section 37 of the NDPS Act, the rejection of two co-accused persons’ bail applications, and the call detail records said to connect the applicant to the crime.

On those grounds, it was not inclined to grant bail, notwithstanding the applicant’s submissions concerning his lack of antecedents, custody, and the filing of the charge-sheet.