- 1 - HC-KAR NC: 2025:KHC:27494 CRL.P No. 7759 of 2025 IN THE HIGH COURT OF KARNATAKA AT BENGALURU DATED THIS THE 22ND DAY OF JULY, 2025 BEFORE THE HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE S VISHWAJITH SHETTY CRIMINAL PETITION NO. 7759 OF 2025 BETWEEN: ABDUL SALAM S/O ABDUL AMMED AGED ABOUT 37 YEARS R/AT NO 2-53, 6B KANNUR POST MANGALURU D K DISTRICT 575001 …PETITIONER (BY SRI. LETHIF B., ADVOCATE) AND: STATE OF KARNATAKA BY GOVINDARAJANAGAR POLICE STATION BENGALURU CITY REP BY SPP HIGH COURT BUILDING BANGALORE 560001 …RESPONDENT (BY SMT. ROHINI PATEL, HCGP) THIS CRL.P FILED U/S 439 CR.PC (FILED U/S 483 BNSS) PRAYING TO RELEASE HIM ON BAIL IN CR.NO.308/2023 (SPL.C.NO.119/2024) OF GOVINDARAJANAGAR P.S. BENGALURU FOR THE OFFENCE P/U/S 22(C) OF NDPS ACT Digitally signed by NANDINI M S Location: HIGH COURT OF KARNATAKA - 2 - HC-KAR NC: 2025:KHC:27494 CRL.P No. 7759 of 2025 PENDING BEFORE XXXIII ADDL.CITY CIVIL AND SESSIONS JUDGE AND SPL.JUDGE FOR NDPS CASES AT BENGALURU. THIS PETITION, COMING ON FOR ORDERS, THIS DAY, ORDER WAS MADE THEREIN AS UNDER: CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE S VISHWAJITH SHETTY ORAL ORDER The accused No.1 in Spl.C.No.119/2024 pending before the Court of XXXIII Additional City Civil & Special Judge (NDPS), Bengaluru, arising out of Crime No.308/2023 registered by Govindarajnagar Police Station, Bengaluru, for the offences punishable under Sections 22(c) of Narcotic Drugs & Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 (for short 'NDPS Act') is before this Court in this successive bail application filed under Section 439 of Cr.P.C. seeking regular bail. 2. Heard the learned counsel for the petitioner and learned High Court Government Pleader for respondent. 3. First Information Report in Cr.No.308/2023 was registered by Govindarajanagar Police station for the aforesaid offences against the petitioner based on first information dated 28.08.2023 received by the first informant who is a Police - 3 - HC-KAR NC: 2025:KHC:27494 CRL.P No. 7759 of 2025 Officer attached to Govindarajnagar Police Station, Bengaluru. During the course of investigation, the petitioner was arrested on 28.08.2023 and remanded to judicial custody. After investigation, charge sheet has been filed against the petitioner for the aforesaid offences and his bail application filed before the Trial Court was rejected. Therefore, he had approached this Court in Crl.P.No.1496/2024 which was dismissed as withdrawn on 10.06.2024. Thereafter, the petitioner had filed Crl.P.No.4482/2024 which was dismissed on merits by the order dated 29.08.2024. The petitioner had subsequently filed Crl.P.No.13536/2024 which was dismissed as withdrawn on 18.02.2025 reserving liberty to the petitioner to approach the Sessions Court a fresh. Thereafter the petitioner filed a fresh bail application before the Trial Court in Crl.Misc.No.2525/2025 which was dismissed on 23.04.2025. Therefore the petitioner is before this Court in this successive bail application. 4. Learned Counsel for the petitioner submits that the contraband article has been weighed in the present case along with plastic cover and the total weight of the contraband article along with plastic cover is 55 gms. The contraband article is not - 4 - HC-KAR NC: 2025:KHC:27494 CRL.P No. 7759 of 2025 separately weighed and therefore, the exact weight of the contraband article has not been placed on record by the prosecution in the present case. Upto 50 grams of methamphetamine is considered as intermediate quantity. The petitioner who has no criminal antecedents is in custody for nearly 02 years and there is no progress before the Trial Court. Accordingly, prays to allow the petition. 5. Per contra, the learned High Court Government Pleader opposes the bail application and submits that the contraband article - methamphetamine which is seized in the present case is of commercial quantity. In view of Section 37(1)(b) of the NDPS Act, the petitioner's prayer for grant of regular bail needs to be rejected. 6. FIR is submitted in the present case based on the credible information received by the Police Officer on 28.08.2023, when he was in the police station, about a person making attempts to sell contraband article to the public, near Otageri hospital within the jurisdiction of Govindarajanagar Police station. Immediately thereafter, the first informant has reduced the credible information into writing in the station - 5 - HC-KAR NC: 2025:KHC:27494 CRL.P No. 7759 of 2025 house dairy and after intimating his higher officer about the proposed raid, he had conducted a raid to the place where the petitioner was making attempts to sell the contraband article and from the said place, the petitioner was apprehended and from his possession, the contraband article which totally weighed about 55 gms., was recovered. 7. A perusal of the material on record as well as first information report would go to show that there is no strict compliance of Section 42 of NDPS Act in the present case. The first informant who was in the police station having received the credible information after reducing the credible information into writing, is required to forward the same to his higher officer. But in the first information report it is not mentioned that the credible information which was reduced into writing was forwarded to the higher officer and thereafter the raid was conducted. What is stated in the First Information Report is that the higher officer was informed about the proposed raid. Therefore, it appears that Section 42 of NDPS Act has not been very strictly complied in the present case. In addition to the same, the Trial Court record would go to show that the seized - 6 - HC-KAR NC: 2025:KHC:27494 CRL.P No. 7759 of 2025 article methamphetamine was weighed along with the plastic cover and total weight of contraband article along with plastic cover is found to be 55 grams. The contraband article has not been weighed without the plastic cover, and therefore, the exact weight of the contraband article seized in the present case is not made out by the prosecution. 8. The quantity of contraband article - methamphetamine which weighs above 50 grams is considered as commercial quantity as per the notification issued under the provisions of NDPS Act. Undisputedly, the petitioner has no criminal antecedents. He is in custody for nearly 23 months. The prosecution has cited 14 charge sheet witnesses in the case and till date not even a single witness is examined before the Trial Court and the trial in the case is yet to commence. 9. In the case of Chitta Biswas Alias Subhas vs. State of West Bengal reported in 2020 SCC OnLine SC 1536, the Hon'ble Supreme Court taking into consideration that the accused was in custody for a period of one year seven months and there was no sufficient progress in trial, without - 7 - HC-KAR NC: 2025:KHC:27494 CRL.P No. 7759 of 2025 expressing any opinion on merits and demerits of the case, has granted regular bail to the accused. 10. In the case of Nitish Adhikary alias Bapan vs. State of West Bengal reported in 2022 SCC OnLine SC 2068 in a case where charge sheet was filed for the offences punishable under Sections 21(c) and 37 of the NDPS Act and accused was in custody for a period of one year seven months, the Hon'ble Supreme Court has granted regular bail on the ground that trial is still in the preliminary stage, as only one witness was examined. 11. The Hon'ble Supreme Court in the case of Javed Gulam Nabi Shaikh v. State of Maharashtra and Another - 2024 SCC OnLine SC 1693, at paragraph No.19, the Hon'ble Supreme Court has observed as follows: "19. If the State or any prosecuting agency including the court concerned has no wherewithal to provide or protect the fundamental right of an accused to have a speedy trial as enshrined under Article 21 of the Constitution then the State or any other prosecuting agency should not oppose the plea for bail on the ground that the crime committed is serious. Article 21 of the Constitution applies irrespective of the nature of the crime". - 8 - HC-KAR NC: 2025:KHC:27494 CRL.P No. 7759 of 2025 12. In the present case, the petitioner has no criminal antecedents and he is in custody for nearly 23 months. The prosecution has cited 14 witnesses and the said witnesses are yet to be examined before the Trial Court which may require considerable time. Under the circumstances, I am of the opinion that the prayer of the petitioner for grant of bail is to be answered in the affirmative. 10. Accordingly, the following:- ORDER The petition is allowed. The petitioner is directed to be enlarged on bail in Spl.C.No.119/2024 pending before the XXXIII Additional City Civil and Sessions Judge, Bengaluru, arising out of Crime No.308/2023 registered by Govindarajanagar police station, Bengaluru, for the offences punishable under Sections 22(c) of NDPS Act, subject to the following conditions: a) Petitioner shall execute personal bond for a sum of Rs.1,00,000/- (Rupees One Lakh only) with two sureties for the likesum, to the satisfaction of the jurisdictional Court; - 9 - HC-KAR NC: 2025:KHC:27494 CRL.P No. 7759 of 2025 b) The petitioner shall appear regularly on all the dates of hearing before the Trial Court unless the Trial Court exempts his appearance for valid reasons; c) The petitioner shall not directly or indirectly threaten or tamper with the prosecution witnesses; d) The petitioner shall not involve in similar offences in future; e) The petitioner shall not leave the jurisdiction of the Trial Court without permission of the said Court until the case registered against him is disposed off. Sd/- (S VISHWAJITH SHETTY) JUDGE HJ List No.: 1 Sl No.: 48