Total Breach of Section 42 NDPS and Trial Delay Satisfy Section 37: Rajasthan High Court Grants Bail

On 12.02.2024, while police manned a blockade, the SHO received secret information at about 5:00 AM that a pickup carrying poppy husk was on its way. At 5:23 AM a pickup turned back on seeing them and was chased down; its driver and owner, the applicant, was searched after a Section 50 notice, and 162.800 kg of poppy husk was recovered (paras 2-2.1). The FIR invoked Sections 8/15 and 29 of the NDPS Act; the Additional Sessions Judge, Desuri refused bail on 29.01.2025 (para 1). Charges had still not been framed because a co-accused could not be served (para 2.2).

The Court read Section 42 as allowing search between sunset and sunrise only with a warrant or authorisation, or on recorded grounds sent to the immediate superior within 72 hours (para 6.1). Following Karnail Singh, compliance is mandatory: delayed compliance may be accepted, but total non-compliance is impermissible (paras 6.2-6.3). Here the seizure memo showed the officer had sufficient time to comply, yet no memorandum was ever forwarded; though the search was shown at 11:10 AM, the vehicle was intercepted at 5:23 AM, and there was "total non-compliance with the provisions of Section 42(2) of the Act of 1985" (para 7). As the information preceded the seizure, the case "cannot be said to be one of chance recovery" (para 7). Delay alone is no ground for bail, and the Section 37 satisfaction must be recorded even then; but the delay was not the applicant's, the Section 42 breach showed he was prima facie not guilty, he had no antecedents, and nothing suggested he would offend on bail (para 8).