The High Court · 2025

High Court may be pleased to enlarge the Petitioners/Accused No.3, on bail in Connection with Crime No.143212024,on the file of MEERPET Police Station, Ranga Reddy District. This Petition coming on for hearing, upon perusing the Memorandum of Grounds of Criminal Petition and upon hearing the arguments of Sri J. Naresh Kumar, learned Counsel for the Petitioner and the learned Addl Public Prosecutor (TG) on behalf of the Respondent. The Court made the following: ORDER i-,: i' -lr'*E:- --v I i I i I THE HONOURABLE SMT JUSTICE K. SUJANA CRIMINAL PETITION No.2152 of 2025 ORDER: The present Crrminal Petition is filed, seeking the Court to enlarge the petitioner, on bail, who is arrayed as accused No.3 in Crime No. 1432 of 2024 of Meerpet Police Station, Ranga Redcly District. Thc offenccs allegcd against the petitioner are under Sections 8 (c) r/w. 15 (c) and 29 of Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 19it5 (for short 'NDPS Act').

2. The case of thc prosecution is that on l5.l2 .20'24 , on reliable information :rlong with his staff at abour l7_O5 hours went to Plot No.1O1, Road No.6, Ashok Rc,1dy 6o1orlr, Badangpet, Mecrpet, Balapur Mandal, Ranga Redd1. District, knocked thc door and when one person opened tlrc door, Lw. I introduced himself, served search proceedings; ('nl e red into the house and conducted raid and they noticr:d other two persons in the room under suspicious manner. Lw. 1 found some bags in which there are Poppy straw rau' nraterials, as they are transporting and selling the same to ncedy people. 2 Immediately the said persons rvere taken into custody. Basing on the complaint, the police registered the case against the accused for the above offences.

3. Hezrrd Sri J.Naresh Kumar, learned counsel for the petitioner and learned Additional Public Prosecutor appearing for the respondcnt-State

4. Thc contcntion of learned counsel for the petitioner is that petitioner is A.3 in this casc and he is innocent of the offenccs alleged. Petitioncr is the only bread winner of family and he has to take care of his old age parents. He further statecl that therc are no previous criminal antecedents against this petitioner, that he is lalsely implicated in this case he has nothing to do with thc said ofl'ence. The material part of investigation is already complcted. The petitioner is in jail from 16. 12.2024. As such, prayed this Court to grant bail to the petitioner.

5. On the other hand, learned Additional Public Prosecutor opposed bail on the ground that the contraband involved in this case is huge commercial quantity i.e., 53.6 kgs and in -) I I I I i ) I ) 3 view of rigour of Section 37 of NDPS Act, petitiont:r is not entitled for bail. As such, prayed this Court to tiismiss this application.

6. Considerrng the submissions madc by both tht: counsel and the material on record, the contraband seizcd in lhis case is huge quantity. At this stage, it is pertinent to note Section 37 of the NDPS Act, and the same reads as undcr: "37. Offences to be cognizable and non (1) Not\rithstan(ling anvthinq bailable. contained in the Code oI Crimir.ral f'rocedltrt:, 1973 12 of 197a), (a) cverv offerrce punishabte under this Act shall be cognDabl:; (b) no person accused of an offerrcc punishab[e for I[offences under section 19 ,)]- section 24 or section 27A and also lilr offences involving commercial quantitl ] slrrrll be released on bail or on his ou'n botrrl unless - (i) the Public Prosecutor has been given rtr opportunity to oppose the application for sucl] release, and lii) where the Public Prosecutor opposes the application, the court is satisfied that th'rre are reasonable grounds for believing that he is not guilty of such offence and that he is not likely to commit any offence while on bail. f I 4 (2) The limitations on granting of bail spccitied ln clause (b) of sub section (1) are in addition to the limitations under thc Code of Criminal Procedure, L973 (2 of 19741 or arry other law for the time being in force on granting of bail."

7. [n view thereof, Section 37 of the NDpS Act mandate s that offences involving commercial quantrties be non bailable, requiring reasonable grounds to believe that the accused is not glrilty and unlikely to commit further offences while on bail. In the facts and circumstanccs of the case on hand, this Court is not satished that conditions for granting bail under Section 37 are met. Therefore, the Criminal Petition lacks merit and the same is liable to bc dismissed.

8. Accordingly, the Criminal Petition is dismissed Miscellaneous applications, if any pending, shall stand closed //TRUE COPY// Sd/. T JAYASREE TANT REGISTRAR SS SECTION OFFICER To

1. The Vl Metropolitan Magistrate Rachakonda at L'B Nagar' R R' Z. ih" Strtion House Officer, Meerpet Police Station' Rachakonda District. District.

3. o;; Cc to sri J. Naresh Kumar, Advocate [OPUC] ; i;; cc, to PUBLIc pnosecuroR, High court for the State of Telangana at HYderabad [OUT]

5. Two CD coPies. BJLB/PR --'rIB---WS-. - ,, ;!&I. -=:--- rE- -'{. r+.:...-i. ---.: }*a-:--* HIGH COURT DATED:2710212O25 ORDER CRLP.No.2152 oI 2025 .:.:::. i ilr.,t, ? +\ 1--j 'j,-l ;/ C =$ +. s, s 'ivt i-, ) :.,, . .'i. CRIMINAL PETITION IS DISMISSED l+ ?( LL |lt /<2' I ,.)