Patna High Court
Manoj Kumar Shah @ Manoj Kumar SahversusThe State of Bihar
- Decided
- Disposal
- ALLOWED
- Bench
- ASHOK KUMAR PANDEY
Holding
The court granted bail to the petitioner, holding that the confessional statement alone does not justify denial of bail.
Summary
Manoj Kumar Shah was arrested for alleged sale of ketamine injections and charged under Sections 8/22 and 8/29 of the NDPS Act. The prosecution’s case relied solely on a statement recorded by a Sub‑Inspector of the Central Narcotics Bureau, which the petitioner contended was inadmissible under Section 67 of the NDPS Act, citing the Supreme Court’s decision in Tofan Singh v. State of Tamil Nadu. The petitioner argued that no physical seizure of drugs was made and that he was falsely implicated, while the State argued that commercial quantities had been sold, as shown by documents recovered. The court examined the admissibility of the confessional statement, the lack of seizure, and the petitioner’s prior unrelated criminal antecedent. Concluding that the statement could not be treated as conclusive evidence and considering the circumstances, the court ordered the petitioner’s release on bail upon furnishing a bond of Rs. 10,000 with two sureties.
Issues considered
- Whether a confessional statement recorded under Section 67 of the NDPS Act is admissible as evidence.
- Whether bail can be granted in a case involving alleged commercial quantity of ketamine without a physical seizure.
- Whether the petitioner’s prior criminal antecedent affects the grant of bail.
Legislation cited
- Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act — s. 67, 8/22, 8/29
Subjects
- NDPS Act
- bail
- confessional statement
- ketamine
- narcotics
- commercial quantity
- prior criminal antecedent
Judgment
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA
CRIMINAL MISCELLANEOUS No.84098 of 2025
Arising Out of PS. Case No.-8 Year-2025 Thana- N.C.B (GOVERNMENT OFFICIAL)
District- Darbhanga
======================================================
Manoj Kumar Shah @ Manoj Kumar Sah S/O Shambhu Prasad Shah R/O
Mohalla- Kaiderabad Neem Pokhar, University LNMU, Distt.- Darbhanga.
... ... Petitioner/s
Versus
1. The State of Bihar
2. Central Bureau of Narcotics through Union of India Union of India
... ... Opposite Party/s
======================================================
Appearance :
For the Petitioner/s : Mr. Alok Kumar Alok, Advocate
Mr. Hans Lal Kumar, Advocate
For the State : Mr. Umanath Mishra, APP
For the U.O.I. : Mr. Vijay Kishore Bharti, Advocate (C.G.C.)
Mr. Abhijeet Gautam, Advocate
======================================================
CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE ASHOK KUMAR PANDEY
CAV ORDER
5 29-01-2026 Heard learned counsel for the petitioner; learned APP
for the State and learned counsel for the Union of India.
2. The petitioner has prayed for bail in connection
with GO No. 23 of 2025 arising out of CBN CRIME No. 08 of
2025 registered for the offence punishable under Sections 08/22
and 08/29 of the NDPS Act.
3. The case of the prosecution is based on the
statement of the petitioner, which was recorded by Sub-
Inspector Central Narcotics Bureau, Lucknow. According to the
statement of the petitioner, he was involved in selling ketamine
injections, and he has obtained the ketamine injections in the
Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.84098 of 2025(5) dt.29-01-2026
2/3
name of Krish Drugs Agency and was made available to him by
Themis Medicare Ltd., Haridwar, and they were sold to different
persons and different agencies.
4. Learned counsel appearing on behalf of the
petitioner has submitted that petitioner is innocent and has
committed no offence. He has been falsely implicated in this
case. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that the case of
the prosecution is based solely on the statement of the petitioner.
It has further been submitted that the confessional statement
recorded under Section 67 of the NDPS Act is not a legal material
as held by the Hon’ble Apex Court in the case of Tofan Singh v.
State of Tamil Nadu, (2021) 4 SCC1. A statement given before
police is not admissible even in NDPS cases and that nothing
has been recovered from the petitioner rather there is only a
dispatch register to show that Themis Medicare Ltd. has
dispatched 81,800 injections of Ketamine of 10 ml each. The
petitioner is having criminal antecedent of one case which is not
of similar in nature. He further submits that the petitioner is
languishing in judicial custody since 11.09.2025.
5. As against this, the learned APP for the State has
vehemently opposed the prayer for regular bail of the petitioner
and submits that more than commercial quantity of ketamine has
been sold by this petitioner which is apparent from the
Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.84098 of 2025(5) dt.29-01-2026
3/3
documents that have been recovered from the possession of this
petitioner.
6. Having heard learned counsel for the parties and
considering the facts and circumstances of the case, this Court is
inclined to enlarge the petitioner on bail. The above named
petitioner is directed to be enlarged on bail on furnishing bail
bond of Rs. 10,000/- (Rs. ten thousand only) with two sureties
of the like amount each to the satisfaction of the learned District
& Additional Sessions Judge-I, Darbhanga in connection with
GO No. 23 of 2025 arising out of CBN CRIME No. 08 of 2025.
(Ashok Kumar Pandey, J)
Sudhanshu/-
AFR/NAFR NAFR
CAV DATE 13.01.2026
Uploading Date 29.01.2026
Transmission Date 29.01.2026
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