Hydroponic Weed Below Commercial Quantity: Allahabad High Court Grants Bail as Section 37 Rigours Do Not Apply

Published: 25 October 2026 · NyayVidhan

The Allahabad High Court granted bail to a man accused in a customs case at Babatpur airport, Varanasi, over 3.721 kg of what the Union of India called hydroponic weed, more potent than conventional cannabis (paras 3-5). As the recovery was below commercial quantity, Section 37 NDPS rigours did not apply, and, citing Manish Sisodia, the Court said bail is not withheld as punishment (paras 6-7).

Hydroponic Weed Below Commercial Quantity: Allahabad High Court Grants Bail as Section 37 Rigours Do Not Apply

Judgment Intelligence

Bail Granted

Shri Shailesh Kumar Yadav v. State of U.P. and Another

Criminal Misc. Bail Application No. 35955 of 2026

Court: Allahabad High Court
Date of Decision: 8 October 2026
Bench: Justice Krishan Pahal
Relevant Acts & Sections: Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 — Sections 8, 20, 23, 37

Final Outcome

Bail application allowed: release on a personal bond and two sureties, on condition that the applicant does not tamper with evidence or intimidate witnesses and appears before the trial court; breach entails cancellation (paras 7-9).

Source Allahabad High Court order dated 08.10.2026

View Full Judgment Text

Key holdings

Below commercial quantity, the rigours of Section 37 of the NDPS Act did not apply (para 7).
Following Manish Sisodia (2024 INSC 595), bail is not to be withheld as a punishment (para 6).
The claimed higher potency of hydroponic weed is not discussed in the reasons (paras 5, 7).
Bail on a personal bond and two sureties, with conditions against tampering and intimidation (para 8).

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

Brief Facts

The applicant sought bail in Case Crime No. Nil/2026 under Sections 8/20/23 of the NDPS Act, Police Station Custom Airport Babatpur, Varanasi (para 3). His counsel said the 3.721 kg of ganja allegedly recovered was below commercial quantity, that he lacked the keys to the bag, which departmental staff broke open, that co-accused had forced and fooled him, and that he had no criminal history and had been in jail since 02.08.2026 (para 4). The Union of India called it hydroponic weed, more potent than conventional cannabis, and said that, travelling by air, he could not have carried more (para 5).

Court's Findings

Krishan Pahal J. noted that in Manish Sisodia v. Directorate of Enforcement, 2024 INSC 595, the Supreme Court again emphasised that the well-settled principle that bail is not to be withheld as a punishment must not be forgotten, and said courts should recognise that bail is the rule and jail the exception (para 6). Considering the facts, the evidence on record and that the recovered contraband was below commercial quantity, so that the rigours of Section 37 of the NDPS Act did not apply, the Court held, without any opinion on the merits, that a prima facie case for bail was made out (para 7). The reasons do not discuss the potency claim (paras 5, 7).

Legal Principle

Where the contraband recovered is below commercial quantity, the rigours of Section 37 of the NDPS Act do not apply, and bail may be granted on a prima facie view without any opinion on the merits; as Manish Sisodia reiterates, bail is not to be withheld as a punishment (paras 6-7).

NyayVidhan's view · Practice note

Why It Matters

Two High Courts now read hydroponic weed below commercial quantity differently. Here the Union of India called the drug more potent than conventional cannabis (para 5), but the Court decided on quantity alone: Section 37 did not apply, and bail is not to be withheld as punishment (paras 6-7). The Rajasthan High Court at Jaipur refused bail on similar facts in Karan Mehra (CRLMB 8926/2025, 07.10.2025), citing potency, value and suspected syndicates, though another Jaipur bench granted bail in Sushil Kumar (CRLMB 14649/2025, 22.01.2026). Applicants in such cases can rely on this order's quantity-based approach; prosecutors relying on potency will have to persuade the bench that it is a relevant consideration at all.

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

Precedents Relied Upon

Manish Sisodia v. Directorate of Enforcement 2024 INSC 595
Relied Upon Discussed at ¶ 6
Relied on for the Supreme Court's reiteration that the well-settled principle that bail is not to be withheld as a punishment must not be forgotten, and that bail is the rule and jail the exception (para 6).