p. 1 IN THE HIGH COURT OF ORISSA AT CUTTACK BLAPL No. 3073 of 2026 Suraj Reddy …. Petitioner Mr. H. Panda, Advocate -versus- State of Odisha …. Opp. Party Ms. S. Devi, ASC CORAM: JUSTICE SIBO SANKAR MISHRA Order No. ORDER 12.05.2026 01. 1. The petitioner is an accused in connection with Maitrivihar P.S. Case No.93 of 2026 corresponding to T.R. No. 144 of 2026 registered on the allegation of the alleged commission of offence punishable under Section 20(b)(ii)(C) of the N.D.P.S. Act, pending in the Court of the learned District and Sessions Judge, Khurda at Bhubaneswar. 2. The petitioner had approached the learned Court below praying for grant of bail. The learned Court below vide its order dated 12.03.2026 has rejected the bail application of the petitioner. Being aggrieved, the petitioner has filed the present petition under Section 483 of B.N.S.S., 2023 praying for enlargement on bail. 3. Learned counsel for the petitioner, on instruction from the petitioner, submits that, except the present bail application, p. 2 no other bail application of the petitioner is pending in any other Court relating to the aforesaid F.I.R. 4. The prosecution case as per the FIR lodged by Surach Behera, S.I., Maitrivihar PS, is that on 02.03.2026 at about 10.13am, receiving information from a reliable source about the illegal transportation of contraband in colour auto bearing Regd.No.OD 33 T 5014 to Salia Sahi via Hatisuni Chhak by four male persons and one female, he along with his co-staffs and independent witnesses proceeded to the spot. At about 11.10am, he successfully intercepted and stopped the auto and on search found one ganja (jari) basta kept at the backside of the rear seat of the auto from which acute smell of ganza was coming out. The total weight of the ganja was found to be 22 Kgs. in that jari basta, which was shown as seizure vide Ext. "A". On being asked, the detainees could not give any satisfactory answer as to the ganja inside the basta. Hence the case. 5. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that 22 kg of contraband ganja has been allegedly recovered from an Auto rickshaw in which the petitioner was a passenger. The petitioner has been in custody since 02.03.2026 and he has no criminal antecedents. 6. The petitioner has very specifically averred in paragraph-9 of the petition that he has no criminal antecedents, which reads as under:- “9. That, it pertinent to mention here that the Petitioner is cognizant that under the mandate of Section 37(1)(b)(ii) of the NDPS Act, the grant of bail in cases involving a commercial quantity is a guarded exception. It is submitted that for the purpose of granting bail, this Hon'ble Court, upon a judicious perusal of the records produced by the p. 3 prosecution, may be pleased to record its satisfaction that there exist reasonable grounds for believing that the Petitioner is not guilty of the alleged offences. Furthermore, in view of the Petitioner's clean antecedents and stable social standing as a local shopkeeper, there is no material on record to suggest that he is likely to commit any offence while on bail. The petitioner, therefore, satisfies the twin conditions of Section 37, warranting the exercise of this Hon’ble Court/s discretionary power in favour of his liberty.” 7. Taking into consideration the quantity of contraband recovered, clean antecedent and the period of custody of the petitioner since 02.03.2026, I am inclined to enlarge the petitioner on bail. 8. Hence, the petitioner is directed to be released on bail by the learned Court in seisin over the matter in the aforesaid case on such terms and conditions as it would deem just and proper, subject to the following additional conditions: (i) The petitioner shall appear before the I.I.C. of the concerned Police Station on every last Sunday of the month between 10.00 A.M. and 12.00 Noon for at least two months; (ii) He shall not leave the jurisdiction of the trial Court till the disposal of the trial; (iii) He shall appear before the trial Court on each date on which the case is posted for trial; (iv) He shall not tamper with the evidence in any manner whatsoever; (v) He shall not commit any offence while on bail, and (vi) He shall be released on bail subject to verification of similar type of antecedents. In the event the petitioner is found wanting for violation p. 4 Ashok of any of the bail conditions imposed by this Court or the trial Court even on a single occasion, the prosecution is at liberty to move appropriate application before the Court below for cancellation of the concession of bail granted by this Court. If such application is filed, the trial Court should decide the application on its own merit. 9. The BLAPL is accordingly disposed of. (S.S. Mishra) Judge MOHAPATRA