Seizure Memo's 10 Grams of MD Is Not Commercial Quantity: Madhya Pradesh High Court Grants Bail

Manoj v. State of Madhya Pradesh Decided 7 February 2024

Published: 14 November 2026 · NyayVidhan · 3 min read

In Manoj v. State of Madhya Pradesh (Misc. Criminal Case No. 1973 of 2024), the Madhya Pradesh High Court held that 10 grams of MDMA, the quantity shown in the panchnama and the very figure the notification prescribes as commercial, is non-commercial quantity because Section 2(viia) of the NDPS Act requires a quantity greater than the notified one, so the Section 37 bar did not apply (para 6). The State's 10.01-gram weighing was left to evidence, and bail was granted (paras 7, 10-11).

Seizure Memo's 10 Grams of MD Is Not Commercial Quantity: Madhya Pradesh High Court Grants Bail

Judgment Intelligence

Bail Granted

Manoj v. State of Madhya Pradesh

Misc. Criminal Case No. 1973 of 2024

Court: Madhya Pradesh High Court
Date of Decision: 7 February 2024
Bench: Justice Vijay Kumar Shukla
Relevant Acts & Sections: Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 — Sections 2(viia), 8, 21, 22, 29, 37; Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 — Sections 167(2), 439

Final Outcome

Application allowed: release on a personal bond of Rs.1,00,000 with one surety of the like amount to the trial court's satisfaction; the bail stands cancelled automatically if the applicant is found involved in any other case during the trial (paras 10-12).

Source Madhya Pradesh High Court order dated 7 February 2024

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Key holdings

10 grams of MDMA, the notified commercial figure, is non-commercial quantity under Section 2(viia) (para 6).
The Section 37 bar on bail did not apply to the seized quantity (para 6).
The State's 10.01-gram weighing could not displace the seizure memo's 10 grams at the bail stage; whether the polythene was weighed is for evidence (para 7).
The Court followed Ratto (Himachal Pradesh High Court) and the Madhya Pradesh orders in Anil Kumar and Raju Kori (para 6).
The bail stands cancelled automatically if the applicant is found involved in another case during the trial (para 12).

Case explainer by NyayVidhan: an account of this judgment and the law it laid down, not the court's text. The judgment itself is the authoritative version.

Brief Facts

The applicant filed his first bail application under Section 439 CrPC in a case under Sections 8/21, 22 and 29 of the NDPS Act (para 1). The prosecution alleged that police, acting on secret information, stopped him with his moped and recovered 10 grams of MD from his trouser pocket on a personal search (para 2). His side relied on serial 134 of the notification, which lists MDMA with 0.5 gram as small and 10 grams as commercial quantity, and on Ratto, Anil Kumar v. Lakhansingh and Raju Kori (paras 3-4). The State put the weight at 10.01 grams and invoked Section 37 (para 5). He had been in custody since 19.11.2023 and the charge-sheet was filed (para 8).

Court's Findings

Vijay Kumar Shukla J. took into consideration the Himachal Pradesh High Court's Full Bench ruling in Ratto and the co-ordinate bench orders of the Madhya Pradesh High Court in Anil Kumar and Raju Kori (para 6). The panchnama showed 10 grams of MDMA, the quantity the notification prescribes as commercial, but Section 2(viia) requires a quantity greater than the quantity specified by the Central Government; the seized quantity was therefore non-commercial and the bar under Section 37 would not apply (para 6). The State's point that the drug weighed a little more than the notified quantity could not be appreciated at the bail stage, because the seizure memo recorded 10 grams; whether the contraband was weighed with its polythene or separately was a matter of evidence (para 7). With the quantity non-commercial, the investigation complete, the charge-sheet filed and no NDPS record against him, the applicant was entitled to bail, without any view on the merits (para 10).

Legal Principle

A recovery equal to the notified commercial quantity is non-commercial quantity, because Section 2(viia) of the NDPS Act requires a quantity greater than the notified figure, and Section 37 does not bar bail. At the bail stage the quantity recorded in the seizure memo governs; a marginally higher weight at weighing is a matter for evidence (paras 6-7).

NyayVidhan's view · Practice note

Why It Matters

Manoj adds a practical point to the greater-than rule: at the bail stage the figure in the seizure memo governs. The State's claim that the MD weighed 10.01 grams, a fraction over the notified 10 grams, was left to trial evidence on whether the polythene was weighed with it (para 7), so the recovery stayed below commercial quantity and outside Section 37 (para 6). The Indore bench followed Raju Kori v. State of Madhya Pradesh (Madhya Pradesh High Court, Misc. Criminal Case No. 43173 of 2023, 16.10.2023) (paras 4, 6). In our view, a prosecution relying on a marginal excess must record the net weight at the seizure itself. See NyayVidhan's explainer on the equal-to-threshold rule.

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

Precedents Relied Upon

Ratto Vs. State of Himachal Pradesh Criminal MP(M) No.1101/2002 decided on 13.6.2003 reported in 2003(3) Crimes 323
Relied Upon Discussed at ¶ 4, 6
Relied on as the Himachal Pradesh High Court Full Bench ruling that greater than in Section 2(viia) means more than the notified quantity; taken into consideration in holding 10 grams of MDMA non-commercial (paras 4, 6).
Anil Kumar Vs. Lakhansingh M.Cr.C. No.2822/2006
Relied Upon Discussed at ¶ 4, 6
Relied on as a co-ordinate bench order of the Madhya Pradesh High Court that granted default bail treating a quantity not greater than the notified figure as non-commercial (paras 4, 6).
Raju Kori Vs. State of MP M.Cr.C. No.43173/2023
Relied Upon Discussed at ¶ 4, 6
Relied on as the co-ordinate bench order at Jabalpur that took the same view following Ratto; taken into consideration in holding the quantity non-commercial (paras 4, 6).

Topics: Bail Twin Conditions for Bail (NDPS) Commercial Quantity Weighing of Seized Contraband Quantity Equal to Commercial Threshold