Section 42 Testimony and 16 Months' Custody: Rajasthan High Court Grants Bail in 407 kg Ganja Case

Deepak and Himanshu Mata @ Harsu Mata v. State of Rajasthan 2026:RJ-JP:44902 Decided 2 November 2026

Published: 14 November 2026 · NyayVidhan · 3 min read

In Deepak v. State of Rajasthan (2026:RJ-JP:44902), a reportable order, the Rajasthan High Court granted second bail to two men held since June 2025 over 407.97 kg of ganja, a commercial quantity. Holding that Section 37 of the NDPS Act is not an absolute bar, it weighed the seizure officer's trial testimony on non-compliance with Section 42, the absence of previous cases, the likely length of the trial and custody of over 16 months (paras 9-12).

Section 42 Testimony and 16 Months' Custody: Rajasthan High Court Grants Bail in 407 kg Ganja Case

Judgment Intelligence

Bail Granted

Deepak and Himanshu Mata @ Harsu Mata v. State of Rajasthan

2026:RJ-JP:44902

S.B. Criminal Misc. Second Bail Application No. 15487/2026 (with No. 15593/2026)

Court: Rajasthan High Court
Date of Decision: 2 November 2026
Bench: Justice Anil Kumar Upman
Relevant Acts & Sections: Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 — Sections 8, 20, 37 and 42; Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 — Section 483

Final Outcome

Both second bail applications were allowed: bonds of Rs 5,00,000 with two sureties of Rs 2,50,000 each, monthly attendance at the local police station until the trial ends, and active mobile numbers shared with the court and agency (paras 13-15); the observations do not bind the trial (para 18).

Source Rajasthan High Court, hcraj.nic.in — order dated 2 November 2026

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Key holdings

Section 37 is not an absolute bar on bail; it requires extra caution, not a finding that the accused is not guilty (paras 9-10).
The likelihood of reoffending must relate to an offence under the NDPS Act and be judged from antecedents and conduct (para 10).
The seizure officer's trial testimony on Section 42 compliance was weighed in favour of bail (para 12).
No previous case, a long trial ahead and custody beyond 16 months supported release on stringent conditions (paras 12-14).

Judgment digest by NyayVidhan: a summary of the court's judgment, not its text. The judgment itself is the authoritative version.

Brief Facts

Police at Chaksu, Jaipur, registered FIR No. 233/2025 under Section 8/20 of the NDPS Act after a vehicle was stopped and searched on a National Highway on 13.06.2025 on secret information; the charge-sheet has been filed (paras 1, 4). The first bail applications were withdrawn in January 2026, and the seizure officer has since been examined as PW-3 (para 2). The petitioners argued that he admitted in cross-examination that nothing on record shows the informer's tip was sent to his superior, that no independent witness joined, that 21 samples came from a single bag and that samples reached the FSL 14 days late (paras 3-5). The Public Prosecutor relied on the commercial quantity and Section 37 (para 7).

Court's Findings

The Court first asked whether Section 37 imposes an absolute bar on bail in commercial-quantity cases, and held that it does not (paras 9-10). The embargo calls for extra caution to ascertain the accused's positive involvement, judged on broad probabilities and the total effect of the evidence, without a positive finding that he is not guilty; a stricter reading would make conviction impossible and cannot be the legislature's intention (para 10). Any likely future offence must be one under the Act, assessed from the accused's antecedents, propensities and the manner of the alleged offence, and a bail order must show application of mind (para 10). The Court drew support from Ranjitsing Brahmajeetsing Sharma v. State of Maharashtra, quoting its reading of the parallel bail bar in Section 21(4) of MCOCA (para 11). Applying this, and without commenting on the merits, it weighed the seizure officer's testimony, particularly on non-compliance with Section 42, the absence of any previous case, the lacunae pointed out by the defence, the likely length of the trial and custody of more than 16 months (para 12).

Legal Principle

Section 37 of the NDPS Act does not bar bail absolutely in commercial-quantity cases. The court must examine the case with extra caution on broad probabilities, without a positive finding that the accused is not guilty, and may weigh trial evidence on safeguards such as Section 42 along with antecedents, trial delay and custody (paras 10-12).

NyayVidhan's view · Practice note

Why It Matters

The second round followed the course set in January: Deepak's first application was withdrawn on 08.01.2026 with liberty to renew after the seizure officer's testimony, and that testimony on Section 42 then became the Court's main ground (paras 2, 12). The defence also raised independent witnesses, sampling under Rule 10 of the 2022 Rules and a 14-day delay in sending samples to the FSL; the Court counted the "lacunae pointed out" among its reasons without ruling on each (paras 4-5, 12). Compare Arjun v. State of Rajasthan, where a total breach of Section 42 with trial delay met Section 37, and Rakesh v. State of Rajasthan, where Section 42 was found complied with and bail was refused.

Editorial comment by the NyayVidhan Editorial Desk. It is not part of the Court's judgment and is not legal advice.

Precedents Relied Upon

Ranjitsing Brahmajeetsing Sharma v. State of Maharashtra (2005) 5 SCC 294
Relied Upon Discussed at ¶ 11
Its paras 41-51 quoted: the bail bar in Section 21(4) of MCOCA does not require a positive finding that the applicant has not committed the offence; it must be construed reasonably to balance a later acquittal or conviction against bail before trial, the likely future offence must be one under that Act, and bail orders must show application of mind. Relied on in holding that Section 37 of the NDPS Act is not an absolute bar (paras 10-12).

Topics: Section 42 Compliance (NDPS) Twin Conditions for Bail (NDPS) Commercial Quantity Criminal Antecedents in Bail Successive Bail Applications Undertrial Detention