$~11 * IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI # CNR No. DLHC010235042026 + BAIL APPLN. 2019/2026 SANDEEP NANDAL .....Applicant Through: Mr. Satish Kumar Tripathi and Mr. Ayush, Advs. versus STATE (NCT) OF DELHI .....Respondent Through: Mr. Raghuinder Verma, APP with Insp. Sanjay Kaushik, Crime Branch, NR-I CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE SAURABH BANERJEE O R D E R % 11.08.2026 1. By virtue of the present bail application under Section 483 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (BNSS), the applicant seeks grant of regular bail in FIR No.07/2022 dated 01.02.2022 registered at PS.: Crime Branch under Sections 20/25/29 of Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 (NDPS Act) and Section 174A of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (IPC). 2. Status Report handed over by learned APP is taken on record. 3. Succinctly put, upon receiving a secret information on 31.01.2022 qua smuggling of Ganja (contraband), the raiding team apprehended the co-accused person, one Mr. Jasbir after due compliance under the NDPS Act. Although no contraband was recovered from his person, however, upon searching the truck in which the said co-accused was waiting, 32 ‘kattas’ containing 54 packets covered with brown tape, were recovered, This is a digitally signed order. The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 17/08/2026 at 10:53:45 from the hidden cavities thereof. Upon cutting the packets open, they were found containing contraband. Thereafter, the packets were put back in the ‘kattas’ and were weighed separately to 610 Kgs. in total. Thus, the present FIR was registered. 4. During investigation, the co-accused person disclosed that the applicant herein alongwith another co-accused Mr. Ajit, (who had ordered the contraband), had cumulatively directed the co-accused Mr. Jasbir to transport the contraband to Delhi. Subsequently, although repeated raids were conducted at the residence of the applicant and notice(s) under Section 67 of the NDPS Act were served, as the applicant was absconding, the learned Trial Court vide order dated 15.10.2022 declared him a Proclaimed Offender/ Person. 5. Thence, after arrest of the applicant on 27.10.2025 and statement(s) of his bank revealed financial transactions inter-se the applicant and co- accused Mr. Ajit were present. In fact, the Call Detail Records (CDRs) further evinced existence of active coordination between the applicant and co-accused Mr. Ajit and co-accused Mr. Jasbir, just a few days preceding registration of the present FIR. 6. In the proceedings before the learned Trial Court, the charges have since been framed and the matter is currently at the stage of prosecution evidence. 7. Under these facts and circumstances, this Court has heard the learned counsel for the applicant as also the learned APP and perused the materials on record. 8. A bare perusal of the record reveals that the applicant was neither named in the FIR nor any recovery qua the contraband involved has been This is a digitally signed order. The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 17/08/2026 at 10:53:45 made from him. In fact, the allegations levelled against the applicant is that the applicant and the co-accused persons were allegedly involved in ordering and transporting the contraband, which, as per the prosecution, stems from the existence of the financial transactions as also CDRs revealing complicity between the applicant and the co-accused persons. 9. As held by the Hon’ble Supreme Court in Tofan Singh vs. State of Tamil Nadu: (2021) 4 SCC 1, mere disclosure statement(s) of co-accused persons under Section 67 of the NDPS Act before a designated officer under the NDPS Act cannot, ipso facto, tantamount to convicting an accused as the same is only in support of the other evidence(s) for fortifying the case of the prosecution and thus cannot form foundation of conviction. 10. As such, the disclosure statement bereft of any corroboration qua recovery made from the applicant and/ or any other evidence(s) pointing towards prima facie complicity in the offence, cannot be the grounds for rejecting the present regular bail application. 11. Moreover, mere existence of CDRs reflecting that he was in contact with the other co-accused persons also do not amount to a conclusive stand of evidence qua complicity, particularly, since this Court is presently dealing with an application seeking grant of regular bail, and the authenticity/ credibility thereof, is a matter to be tested at the anvil of trial. 12. Also, since there is an absence of any cogent prima facie evidence clearly establishing the financial transactions inter-se the applicant and the co-accused person for the purpose of dealing in the contraband and mere monetary transactions do not establish the applicant’s complicity in the commission of the offence. In any event, the aforesaid is also a matter of This is a digitally signed order. The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 17/08/2026 at 10:53:45 trial and thus the nexus of the said transactions qua complicity of the offence cannot be adverted to at this stage. 13. Lastly, although the records reveal that the applicant herein was declared as a Proclaimed Person/ Offender by the learned Trial Court, however since he has, admittedly, been arrested on 27.10.2025, following which investigation qua him also stands completed, the same need not be taken in stricto sensu a reason for denying bail to the applicant, if he is able to make grounds for his release. 14. Thus, considering that the applicant is already under arrest, and has been facing incarceration since the past almost nine months, and as per the Nominal Roll, his conduct while inside judicial custody has been “Satisfactory”, and the supplementary charge-sheet qua him has already been filed, as also since he has no prior antecedents pertaining to the NDPS Act, there are no fetters if the applicant is granted bail in view of the overall facts and circumstances involved herein. 15. Resultantly, the present application is allowed and the applicant be released on regular bail in FIR No.07/2022 dated 01.02.2022 registered under Sections 20/25/29 of NDPS Act and Section 174-A of IPC at PS.: Crime Branch, subject to him furnishing a personal bond in the sum of Rs.50,000/- (Rupees Fifty Thousand Only) alongwith one surety of the like amount by a family member/ friend having no criminal case pending against him/ her, and subject to the satisfaction of the concerned Jail Superintendent, and further subject to the following conditions:- i. The applicant shall not leave the country without prior permission of this Court and shall ordinarily reside at the address provided in the Trial Court record and in case of any change in the This is a digitally signed order. The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 17/08/2026 at 10:53:45 residential/ permanent address/ contact details/ phone number, the applicant shall inform the same to the IO concerned. ii. Applicant shall surrender his Passport, if any, to the IO concerned within three days of his release. iii. Applicant shall provide all his mobile numbers to the IO concerned which shall be kept in working condition at all times. iv. The applicant shall also appear before the Court as and when the matter is taken up for hearing. v. Applicant shall not indulge in any criminal activity and shall not contact any of the prosecution witnesses, or tamper with the evidence of the case. 16. A copy of this order be sent to the concerned Jail Superintendent for necessary information and compliance forthwith. 17. Needless to say, expression of view(s) on the merits, if any, are solely for the purposes of adjudication of the present application and shall have no bearing on the overall case/ trial involved. SAURABH BANERJEE, J AUGUST 11, 2026/So This is a digitally signed order. The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 17/08/2026 at 10:53:45