Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023

The Supreme Court ordered the release on bail of two Amritsar doctors arrested by the NCB over 2000 Tramadol tablets. Their arrest memo, in a template format, recorded only that the grounds of arrest had been explained orally. Under Mihir Rajesh Shah, written grounds then had to be supplied two hours before production before the Magistrate, and that was not done (paras 20-22). Applying that ratio, the appellants were entitled to release (para 23).

The Rajasthan High Court granted regular bail to two men accused of cutting open an SBI ATM in Didwana-Kuchaman with a gas cutter, holding that pending criminal cases alone do not justify refusing bail (para 8). Treating community service under the new criminal laws as a reformative tool, it required each applicant to plant at least five trees a day for 30 days (para 63), and directed the State to frame an action plan and SOP for rehabilitating offenders (paras 49-50).

The Rajasthan High Court refused regular bail under Section 483 of the BNSS to a man accused of bringing 5.920 kg of hydroponic weed from Bangkok to Jaipur, although the quantity was below the 20 kg commercial quantity he relied on (paras 1-2, 5). Noting that a co-ordinate Bench had refused bail in such cases, it relied on the drug's potency, its value of about Rs 6 crore in the international market and his alleged link with a drug syndicate (para 5).

The Rajasthan High Court at Jodhpur granted bail, on a second application, to a man accused of supplying opium in a CBN Pratapgarh case under Section 8/18 of the NDPS Act; his counsel said nothing was recovered from him (paras 1, 3, 8). Following Akhlak @ Vilsan, the Court counted the opium found with riders of two motorcycles per accused, each below commercial quantity, and noted the possessors' bail and his custody of about a year (paras 6-7).

The Rajasthan High Court granted bail to an accused in a 248 kg poppy husk case despite the Section 37 bar, finding prima facie non-compliance with the NDPS (Seizure, Storage, Sampling and Disposal) Rules, 2022: the sample sent for chemical examination was drawn by the police at the spot, not in the presence of a Magistrate, and the bags were neither homogenised nor marked (paras 15-19, 24-28).

The Rajasthan High Court granted bail to a man accused of carrying 6.220 kg of hydroponic weed in a Customs Air Intelligence Unit case at Jaipur International Airport (paras 1, 6). As the recovery was below commercial quantity, the Court held that the Section 37 NDPS restriction on bail did not apply and, following the Supreme Court's order in Puranmal Jat, released him without commenting on the merits (paras 6-9).

The Rajasthan High Court at Jaipur granted bail to a man prosecuted by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence in a hydroponic weed case in which 15.740 kg was allegedly found with a co-accused (paras 1-2). Noting that no contraband was recovered from him, the charge-sheet had been filed, he had no criminal antecedents, the trial would take considerable time and he had spent time in custody, the Court allowed bail without commenting on the merits (para 5).

The Orissa High Court granted bail to a young accused in a Customs case over 3.990 kg of hydroponic weed (paras 1, 6, 8). Finding no material for a THC-based commercial threshold, it held that marijuana, by whatever name called, is a cannabis product and, as flowering tops, ganja under Section 2(iii)(b) of the NDPS Act; the commercial limit is therefore 20 kg, and the Section 37 bar did not apply (paras 3-5).

The Delhi High Court set aside anticipatory bail granted to a man alleged to be part of the Thailand-based supply chain for 39.706 kg of hydroponic marijuana seized in an international cartel case (paras 104-105). The Special Judge had treated it as an ordinary bail matter without the Section 37 NDPS Act analysis that commercial quantity demands, and had turned the hearing into a mini-trial by recording the investigating officer's statement on oath (paras 60, 65, 86).

In the 2010 Jnaneshwari Express derailment case, the Supreme Court held that Section 436-A CrPC cannot apply where death is a possible punishment, as under Section 302 IPC and Section 16 UAPA, and that Article 21 cannot be the sole consideration where national security is involved. Yet, with the accused jailed for about twelve years, no misuse of bail and 28 witnesses still to be examined, it declined to cancel their bail and issued directions to speed up reverse-burden trials (paras 11, 16, 21-24).

The Rajasthan High Court at Jaipur refused bail to an accused held on a DRI complaint under the NDPS Act over about 15.740 kg of ‘Hydroponic Weed’ allegedly carried concealed through an airport, although the defence said the quantity was below the 20 kg commercial quantity for ganja (paras 4-6). The Court relied on the substance’s reported potency and value, the ongoing investigation, Karan Mehra and Supreme Court economic-offence rulings (para 7).

The Rajasthan High Court at Jaipur refused bail to an accused charged under the NDPS Act over about 11.410 kg of ‘Hydroponic Weed’ allegedly brought from Bangkok, a quantity the defence said was below the 20 kg commercial quantity for ganja (paras 1, 4-5). Having accepted the Commissioner of Customs’ explanation for not invoking the Customs Act, the Court relied on the drug’s reported potency and value, Karan Mehra and Supreme Court economic-offence rulings (paras 3, 7).