Patna High Court
Md. IbrarversusThe State of Bihar
- Decided
- Disposal
- BAIL REJECTED
- Bench
- R P MISHRA
Holding
The court held that bail is not warranted as the seized contraband exceeds the commercial quantity, invoking the bar under Section 37 of the NDPS Act.
Summary
The petitioner, Md. Ibrar, was arrested in connection with a case under Sections 8(c), 21(b) and 25 of the NDPS Act for the alleged recovery of 102 bottles of codeine cough syrup from a bamboo orchard behind his house. He applied for bail, claiming innocence, lack of criminal antecedents, and that the contraband was not in his conscious possession nor was any witness tampering alleged. The State opposed bail, contending that the seized quantity exceeds the commercial threshold and therefore falls under the bar of Section 37 of the NDPS Act, relying on the Supreme Court’s decision in Hira Singh (2020) 20 SCC 272 which holds that neutral substances must be counted in determining commercial quantity. The Court examined the facts, noted the recovery of a large quantity of narcotic and the applicability of Section 37, and concluded that bail could not be granted. Consequently, the bail prayer was rejected and the trial court was directed to expedite the trial without undue delays.
Issues considered
- Whether bail can be granted when the seized narcotic quantity exceeds the commercial quantity under Section 37 of the NDPS Act.
- Whether the absence of conscious possession and lack of witness tampering affect the bail eligibility under Sections 42 and 50 of the NDPS Act.
- Whether neutral substances should be included in calculating the commercial quantity of narcotic drugs.
Legislation cited
- Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act — s. 21(b), 25, 37, 42, 50, 8(c)
Subjects
- NDPS Act
- bail
- commercial quantity
- codeine
- neutral substance
- Section 37
- trial expedite
Judgment
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA
CRIMINAL MISCELLANEOUS No.80677 of 2025
Arising Out of PS. Case No.-275 Year-2025 Thana- DHAMDAHA District- Purnia
======================================================
Md. Ibrar S/O Noor Mohammad Resident of Sonapur, Ward No. 2, P.S.-
Dhamdaha, Dist.- Purnea
... ... Petitioner/s
Versus
The State of Bihar
... ... Opposite Party/s
======================================================
Appearance :
For the Petitioner/s : Mr. Amit Kumar Anand, Advocate
For the Opposite Party/s : Mr. Umeshanand Pandit, APP
======================================================
CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE RUDRA PRAKASH
MISHRA
ORAL ORDER
3 11-02-2026 Heard learned counsel for the petitioner and learned APP
for the State. Perused the case diary.
2. The petitioner seeks bail in connection with Dhamdaha
PS Case No. 275 of 2025 instituted for the offences under
Sections 8(c), 21(b) & 25 of the NDPS Act.
3. Prosecution allegation, in short, is that the there is
recovery of 102 bottles of codeine cough syrup containing 100
mL each from bamboo orchard situated behind the house of the
petitioner.
4. learned counsel for the petitioner submits that the
petitioner is innocent and has falsely been implicated in the
present case. The petitioner is in custody since 22.09.2025 and
has got no criminal antecedent. Charge-sheet has been
Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.80677 of 2025(3) dt.11-02-2026
2/3
submitted in this case. There is no allegation of tampering of
witnesses alleged against the petitioner. Learned counsel further
submits that nothing has been recovered from the conscious
possession of the petitioner, rather the same is recovered from
an open place, which is accessible to one and all. There is no
compliance of Sections 42 and 50 of the NDPS Act.
5. Learned A.P.P. for the State has vehemently opposed
the prayer for grant of bail to the petitioner. Learned A.P.P.
submits that recovered contraband is above the commercial
quantity, hence, there is bar under Section 37 of the N.D.P.S.
Act. Learned A.P.P. has further relied upon a case of Hon’ble
Supreme Court since reported in (2020) 20 SCC 272 (Hira
Singh and Another versus Union of India and Another) in
which the Hon’ble Apex Court held that in case of seizure of
mixture of narcotic drugs or psychotropic substance with one or
more neutral substance(s), the quantity of neutral substance(s) is
not to be excluded and to be taken into consideration along with
actual content by way of offending drug while determining the
“small or commercial quantity” of narcotic drugs or
psychotropic substance.
6. Considering the aforesaid facts and circumstances of
the case and recovery of contraband beyond commercial
Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.80677 of 2025(3) dt.11-02-2026
3/3
quantity coupled with embargo under Section 37 of the
N.D.P.S. Act, this Court is not inclined to grant bail to the
petitioner.
7. The prayer is rejected.
8. The Trial Court is directed to expedite the trial as
expeditiously as possible without any undue delay and
unnecessary adjournments.
(Rudra Prakash Mishra, J)
Raj Kishore/-
U T
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