Neutral Citation No. - 2025:AHC:135915 Court No. - 65 Case :- CRIMINAL MISC. BAIL APPLICATION No. - 9372 of 2025 Applicant :- Dharmendra Sah Opposite Party :- State of U.P. Counsel for Applicant :- Diwan Saifullah Khan Counsel for Opposite Party :- G.A. Hon'ble Krishan Pahal,J. 1. List has been revised. 2. Heard Sri Diwan Saifullah Khan, learned counsel for the applicant and Sri Ram Mohit Yadav, learned A.G.A. for the State and perused the record. 3. Applicant seeks bail in Case Crime No. 25 of 2025, under Section 8/20/29 of The Narcotic Drugs And Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985, Police Station- Ramnagar, District Varanasi, during the pendency of trial. 4. As per the allegations of the FIR, 22 kg of ganja is stated to have been recovered from the possession of the applicant by the police on 27.01.2025. 5. Learned counsel for the applicant has argued that the applicant is absolutely innocent and has been falsely implicated in the present case with a view to cause unnecessary harassment and to victimize him. It is next stated that the weight of the said contraband has deliberately been inflated by the informant to make the said recovery fall within the commercial quantity as 20 kg of ganja is considered to be the commercial quantity. Learned counsel for the applicant has stated that there is no compliance of mandatory provision of Section 52 (a) of the N.D.P.S. Act. 6. Learned counsel has further stated that the the applicant is languishing in jail since 27.1.2025 having no criminal history to his credit. The applicant is cooperating in trial. In case, the applicant is released on bail, he will not misuse the liberty of bail. 7. Learned A.G.A. has vehemently opposed the bail application on the ground that the recovery of the contraband article is of commercial quantity. 8. The Supreme Court in the Case of Union of India vs. Shiv Shankar Keshari, (2007) 7 SCC 798 has held that the court while considering the application for bail with reference to Section 37 of the Act is not called upon to record a finding of not guilty. It is for the limited purpose essentially confined to the question of releasing the accused on bail that the court is called upon to see if there are reasonable grounds for believing that the accused is not guilty and records its satisfaction about the existence of such grounds. But the court has not to consider the matter as if it is pronouncing a judgment of acquittal and recording a finding of not guilty. 9. Considering the facts of the case and keeping in mind, the ratio of the Supreme Court's judgment in the case of Union of India vs. Shiv Shankar Keshari (supra) larger mandate of Article 21 of the constitution of India, the nature of accusations, the nature of evidence in support thereof, the severity of punishment which conviction will entail, the character of the accused-applicant, circumstances which are peculiar to the accused, reasonable possibility of securing the presence of the accused at the trial, reasonable apprehension of the witnesses being tampered with, the larger interest of the public/ State and other circumstances, but without expressing any opinion on the merits, I am of the view that it is a fit case for grant of bail. 10. Let the applicant - Dharmendra Sah, who is involved in aforementioned case crime be released on bail on his furnishing a personal bond and two sureties each in the like amount to the satisfaction of the court concerned subject to following conditions. Further, before issuing the release order, the sureties be verified. i) The applicant shall not tamper with the evidence during trial. ii) The applicant shall not pressurise/intimidate with the prosecution witnesses. iii) The applicant shall appear before the trial court on the date fixed. 11. In case of breach of any of the above conditions, it shall be a ground for cancellation of bail. 12. It is made clear that observations made in granting bail to the applicant shall not in any way affect the learned trial Judge in forming his independent opinion based on the testimony of the witnesses. Order Date :- 11.8.2025 Sumit S (Justice Krishan Pahal) Digitally signed by :- SUMIT SRIVASTAVA High Court of Judicature at Allahabad