[NDPS Act] Bar On Bail U/S 37 Can Be Relaxed When Contraband 'Marginally' Above Commercial Quantity: Punjab & Haryana High Court

The Punjab & Haryana High Court has said that the bar on granting bail in case of commercial quantity under Section 37 of the NDPS Act can be relaxed when the alleged recovered contraband is "marginally above" the commercial quantity.

Section 37 of the NDPS Act states that bail should not be granted to an accused unless the accused is able to satisfy twin conditions i.e. reasonable ground for believing that the accused is not guilty of such an offence and that the accused would not commit an offence or is not likely to commit an offence, if granted bail.

Justice Jasjit Singh Bedi said, "The alleged recovery from the petitioner is of 261 grams of a narcotic substance containing the sale of 'Tramadol Hydrochloride' which is marginally above the commercial quantity of 250 grams. The petitioner is a first time offender with no other case under the NDPS Act registered against him. In this situation, the provisions of Section 37 of the NDPS Act can be relaxed to an extent and the case of the petitioner can be considered for the grant of bail." 

The Court further noted that the accused has been in custody since September 13, 2023, but none of the 13 prosecution witnesses have been examined so fa,r and a co-accused has already been granted similar relief.

The Court was hearing a bail plea under Section 483 BNSS for the grant of regular bail in case FIR under Sections 21,22,29,61,85 of the NDPS Act.

The brief facts of the case were that the petitioner Gurprabh Singh @ Prince was allegedly apprehended with 261 grams of narcotic substance, subsequently found to contain the sale 'Tramadol Hydrochloride'.

Counsel appearing for the petitioner argued that there was a violation of the mandatory provisions of the Act regarding search and seizure. No independent witness of recovery was joined during the course of the recovery proceedings. Since the recovery of 261 grams of Tramadol Hydrochloride was marginally above the commercial quantity of 250 grams, the petitioner was a first-time offender, in custody since 13.09.2023, and none of the 13 prosecution witnesses had been examined so far.

After examining the submissions, the Court took note of a catena of judgements of the High Court, wherein the recovery from the accused was marginally above the commercial quantity for the respective contraband in each case, and the Court granted bail to the accused therein.

Thus, without commenting upon the merits of the case, the Court allowed the plea and the petitioner, namely, Gurprabh Singh @ Prince was ordered to be released on bail.

Mr. Nikhil Ghai, Advocate, and Ms. Malini Singh, Advocate, for the petitioner.

Mr. Rajinder Singh Bhatta, DAG, Punjab.

Title: Gurprabh Singh @ Prince v. State of Punjab

Citation: 2025 LiveLaw (PH) 103

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