Parity with bailed co-accused, clean antecedents, and prolonged custody justify regular bail.

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 45 kg of ganja was recovered from a vehicle in which the applicant and co-accused were travelling.

The applicant’s first bail application had been rejected on 23 February 2026.

After the charge-sheet was filed and charges framed, the applicant renewed his request, relying in part on the Supreme Court’s grant of bail to two co-accused.

He had been in custody since 7 August 2025 and had no previous criminal antecedents.

Whether the applicant should be granted regular bail in his second application, having regard to the bail granted to two co-accused, his custody and antecedent record, and the likely duration of the trial.

Section 483 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, provides the basis for the application for regular bail.

In deciding the application, the Court considered the circumstances identified in its order: parity with co-accused who had been granted bail, the absence of criminal antecedents, filing of the charge-sheet, the period already spent in custody, and the likely time required to conclude the trial.

The Court considered that two co-accused had been enlarged on bail by the Supreme Court and accepted that parity supported the applicant’s request.

It also took account of the applicant’s clean antecedent record, the filing of the charge-sheet, his custody since 7 August 2025, and the likelihood that the trial would take time to conclude.

On the combined weight of those circumstances, it granted bail despite the State’s opposition based on the alleged recovery of 45 kg of ganja.

The Court clarified that its observations were limited to the bail application and that the trial court must decide the case on its own merits.