Neutral Citation No. - 2025:AHC:115108 Court No. - 87 Case :- CRIMINAL MISC. BAIL APPLICATION No. - 14865 of 2025 Applicant :- Mohammad Ahsan And Another Opposite Party :- State of U.P. Counsel for Applicant :- Akancha Singh,Pavan Kishore Counsel for Opposite Party :- G.A. Hon'ble Avnish Saxena,J. 1. Rejoinder affidavit filed today is taken on record. 2. The present bail application has been moved by the applicants- accused Mohammad Ahsan and Mannan Khan for the offence punishable under Sections 8/20/29 of N.D.P.S. Act, 1985 in Case Crime No. 134 of 2025, Police Station- Naini, District- Prayagraj. 3. Mr. Pavan Kishore, learned advocate, appears on behalf of applicants and submits that the accused-applicants have been falsely implicated in the present case. The applicants-accused are driver and cleaner of the truck, which has been engaged by the M/S Baba Baidyanath Commercial, Raipur, Chhatisgarh for sending paddy husk from Raipur to Prayagraj intercepted by the police and from the paddy husk, 1 quintal 80 kg. ganja was recovered. It is further submitted that the applicants-accused are innocent and having no criminal history. The applicants are in jail since March, 2025. 4. Per contra, learned AGA opposed the bail and submits that charge sheet is submitted against the accused-applicants. 5. Taken into consideration the rival submissions made by the parties and perused the record. 6. It is settled position of law that bail is the rule and committal to jail is an exception as propounded in the case of State of Rajasthan Vs. Balchand @ Baliay (1977) 4 SCC 308, the Apex Court observed that refusal of bail is a restriction on the personal liberty of the individual guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution and opined para 2 "The basic rule may perhaps be tersely put as bail, not jail, except where there are circumstances suggestive of fleeing from justice or thwarting the course of justice or creating other troubles in the shape of repeating offences or intimidating witnesses and the like, by the petitioner who seeks enlargement on bail from the court. We do. We do. not intend to be exhaustive but only illustrative." and considering the facts of the case and keeping in mind, the ratio of the Apex Court's judgment in the case of Gudikanti Narasimhulu And Ors vs Public Prosecutor, High Court Of Andhra Pradesh, (1978) 1 SCC 240 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-applicants, 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. 7. In the case of Mohd. Muslim alias Hussain Vs. State (NCT of Delhi) [(2023) 18 SCC 166] the Apex Court observed and held that the rigour under Section 37 of N.D.P.S. Act would not come in the way, when the Court deals with the liberty of a person, as more the rigour, quicker ought to be the adjudication. 8. The perusal of the records reveals that the applicants are only the driver and cleaner of the vehicle. There is no independent witness of arrest and recovery. There is no criminal history of the applicants. The compliance of mandatory provisions of N.D.P.S. Act are subject to adjudication in trial. There annexed a transport receipt, Annexure No.2 to show that the truck was hired for carrying 'Gadha Chara', paddy husk. The applicants are languishing in jail since 18.03.2025. Without touching the merit of the case, this bail application is allowed. 8. Let the accused applicants be enlarged on bail subject to furnishing a personal bond and two sureties each in the like amount to the satisfaction of the court concerned. Order Date :- 16.7.2025 Mini (Avnish Saxena,J.) Digitally signed by :- MINI KANAUJIYA High Court of Judicature at Allahabad