6.220 kg Hydroponic Weed Below Commercial Quantity: Rajasthan High Court Grants Bail, Section 37 NDPS Bar Inapplicable

Published: 25 October 2026 · NyayVidhan

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).

6.220 kg Hydroponic Weed Below Commercial Quantity: Rajasthan High Court Grants Bail, Section 37 NDPS Bar Inapplicable

Judgment Intelligence

Bail Granted

Sushil Kumar v. Union of India

2026:RJ-JP:3104

S.B. Criminal Miscellaneous Bail Application No. 14649/2025

Court: Rajasthan High Court
Date of Decision: 22 January 2026
Bench: Justice Ganesh Ram Meena
Relevant Acts & Sections: Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 — Sections 8(c), 20(b)(ii)(B), 23, 29, 37; Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 — Section 483

Final Outcome

Bail application allowed: release on a personal bond of Rs 1,00,000 with two sureties of Rs 50,000 each, appearance before the trial court on every date, and monthly appearance before the Inspector of Customs, Air Intelligence Unit until the trial ends (paras 9-10).

Source Rajasthan High Court, hcraj.nic.in — order dated 22.01.2026

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Key holdings

The 6.220 kg of hydroponic weed was below commercial quantity, so the Section 37 NDPS bar did not apply (para 6).
The Court followed the Supreme Court's order in Puranmal Jat v. State of Rajasthan, decided on 02.11.2023 (paras 7-8).
The petitioner must appear before the Inspector of Customs, Air Intelligence Unit, Jaipur International Airport, in the first seven days of every month till the trial ends (para 10).

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 Inspector of Customs, Air Intelligence Unit, Customs, Jaipur International Airport registered a case against the petitioner for offences under Sections 8(c), 20(b)(ii)(B), 23 and 29 of the NDPS Act, and he applied for bail under Section 483 BNSS (para 1). His counsel said 6.220 kg of hydroponic weed was recovered from him on a search, less than commercial quantity; that he had been in custody since 17.10.2025; and that a charge-sheet had been filed (para 3). The Public Prosecutor opposed bail, pointing to the recovery of 6.220 kg of hydroponic weed from the petitioner (para 4).

Court's Findings

The Court's reasoning is brief. It found that the alleged recovery of 6.220 kg of hydroponic weed was less than the commercial quantity, so the restriction on bail under Section 37 of the NDPS Act did not apply (para 6). It relied on the Supreme Court's order in Puranmal Jat v. State of Rajasthan (decided on 02.11.2023), which granted bail where about 35 kg of poppy straw had been recovered against a commercial quantity of 50 kg, the appellant had been in custody for over seven months and the charge-sheet had been filed (para 7). Having regard to that, and without expressing any opinion on the merits, it enlarged the petitioner on bail (para 8). The order does not discuss the potency, value or source of the contraband.

Legal Principle

Where the alleged recovery of a narcotic drug is below commercial quantity, the restriction on bail under Section 37 of the NDPS Act does not apply, and the accused may be enlarged on bail, as in Puranmal Jat, where the charge-sheet had been filed (paras 6-8).

NyayVidhan's view · Practice note

Why It Matters

This short order sits on one side of a split within the Jaipur Bench on bail for hydroponic weed below commercial quantity. It takes the ordinary route: a recovery below commercial quantity keeps the Section 37 bar out, and bail follows the Supreme Court's order in Puranmal Jat (paras 6-8). Other Benches have refused bail on similar recoveries, citing factors such as the drug's potency, its high value and possible links to organised syndicates: Karan Mehra (CRLMB 8926/2025, 07.10.2025), Mir Shahid Hussain (CRLMB 13352/2025, 27.11.2025) and, later, Indrajeet Kumar Nishad (CRLMB 1951/2026, 09.02.2026). This order does not engage with that line, so until the conflict is resolved, the outcome may turn on which approach the Bench follows.

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

Precedents Relied Upon

Puranmal Jat v. State of Rajasthan Criminal Appeal No.3394/2023
Relied Upon Discussed at ¶ 7, 8
Where the recovery is below commercial quantity, the Section 37 NDPS restriction on bail does not apply; the Court relied on this Supreme Court order to grant bail for 6.220 kg of hydroponic weed.