Commercial Quantity Issue Need Not Be Decided at Bail Stage: Supreme Court
New Delhi, July 25: In a significant ruling under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, the Supreme Court has held that the question of whether recoveries made from co-accused can be combined to constitute a commercial quantity does not require adjudication at the stage of deciding a bail application.
A Bench comprising Justice Ujjal Bhuyan and Justice Atul S. Chandurkar made the observation while granting bail to an accused from Jammu & Kashmir and setting aside the order of the Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh High Court, which had earlier rejected his regular bail plea.
According to the case records, the appellant was arrested in July 2025 after police allegedly recovered 602 grams of charas from his possession. Based on his alleged disclosure statement, two other accused were subsequently apprehended, from whom 498 grams and 318 grams of charas were allegedly recovered.
The prosecution argued that the total combined recovery exceeded one kilogram, thereby attracting the stringent provisions of Section 37 of the NDPS Act, which governs the grant of bail in cases involving commercial quantities of narcotic substances.
However, the Supreme Court observed that it was not necessary to decide at the bail stage whether the recoveries from the co-accused could be clubbed together to treat the case as one involving commercial quantity.
The Bench observed that the legal issue regarding the combined recovery could remain open for consideration during the trial, particularly as the investigation had already been completed, the chargesheet filed, charges framed, and the accused had remained in judicial custody for more than one year.
Taking note of these circumstances, the apex court allowed the appeal, quashed the High Court’s order refusing bail, and directed that the appellant be produced before the concerned Special Court within seven days for his release on bail on such terms and conditions as deemed appropriate by the trial court.
Advocate Danish Majid Dar, assisted by Rizwan Ul Zaman, Ahra Syed, Anant Vikram Singh and Advocate-on-Record Towseef Ahmad Dar, appeared for the appellant. The Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir was represented by Parth Awasthi, assisted by Simran Sharma and Advocate-on-Record Pashupathi Nath Razdan.(KNC)
