IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA CRIMINAL MISCELLANEOUS No.16006 of 2026 Arising Out of PS. Case No.-6 Year-2026 Thana- INARWA District- West Champaran ====================================================== Meghnath Prasad Kushwaha, Son of Late Harangi Prasad Kushwaha, R/o Khamhiya, Ward No. 11, P.S. - Inarwa, District - West Champaran. ... ... Petitioner/s Versus The State of Bihar ... ... Opposite Party/s ====================================================== Appearance : For the Petitioner/s : Mr.Bimlesh Kumar Pandey, Advocate For the Opposite Party/s : Mr.Anish Chandra, APP ====================================================== CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE ASHOK KUMAR PANDEY ORAL ORDER 3 20-04-2026 Heard learned counsel for the petitioner and learned APP for the State. 2. The petitioner has prayed for bail in connection with Inarwa P.S. Case No. 06 of 2026 registered for the offence punishable under Section 21(c) of the N.D.P.S. Act. 3. The case of the prosecution, in short, is that from the homestead land of this petitioner, altogether 33 liters of Onerex Cough Syrup containing codeine and 1200 tablets of Nitzascen-10 containing Nitrezepam were recovered. 4. Learned counsel appearing on behalf of the petitioner has submitted that petitioner is innocent and has committed no offence. He has been falsely implicated in this case. Nothing has been recovered from his possession. The Recovery has been made from an open place. Learned counsel Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.16006 of 2026(3) dt.20-04-2026 2/4 for the petitioner has submitted that from perusal of the seizure list, it will transpire that the seizure witnesses are not independent witness rather they are police personnel. Police has also not followed the provision of Section 105 of B.N.S.S. while making seizure. Petitioner is languishing in judicial custody since 13.01.2026. 5. Learned counsel for the petitioner has submitted that Under Notification No. S.O. 826(E) dated 14.11.1985 under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act and Rules, 1985 that preparations are exempted as manufactured drugs provided the preparations contained the narcotic drugs to the extent permitted in respect of codeine under Entry No. 35. It is stated that codeine and ethyle morphine and their salts including dionine all dilutions and preparations are considered to be manufactured drugs except those which are compounded with one or more other ingredients and containing not more than 100 miligrams of the drugs per doses unit and with a concentration of not more than 2.5 % in undivided preparations and which have been established in therapeutic practice. 6. In this case, Onerex Cough Syrup and Nitzascen-10 tablets have been recovered from the homestead land of the petitioner and the concentration of the codeine in Onerex Cough Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.16006 of 2026(3) dt.20-04-2026 3/4 Syrup is approximately 0.2% which is less than 2.5% as provided in the above notification. Regarding the tablets, it has been submitted that the total weight of Nitrezepam is 12 gram which is though more than small quantity but is much less than commercial quantity. 7. Learned APP appearing for the State has vehemently the application for bail and has submitted that petitioner is having criminal antecedent of one case. It has further been submitted that in the case of Hira Singh and Anr. V. Union of India and Anr., the Hon’ble Supreme Court has held that entire non-toxic material which is mixed with the contraband will be considered as the contraband and as such, the quantity which has been recovered form the possession of this petitioner is commercial quantity. 8. In this regard, it is worth mentioning that in view of Section 2(d) of the N.D.P.S. Act, the drug itself is not narcotic drug then there is no jurisdictional basis for the case and the Court would not have a reason to go into the question of quantities. The Central Government has power to issue notification time to time. 9. Having heard learned counsel for the parties and considering the facts and circumstances of the case, this Court is Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.16006 of 2026(3) dt.20-04-2026 4/4 inclined to enlarge the petitioner on bail. The above named petitioner is directed to be enlarged on bail on furnishing bail bond of Rs. 10,000/- (Rs. ten thousand only) with two sureties of the like amount each to the satisfaction of the learned Exclusive Special Judge, NDPS, Bettiah, West Champaran in connection with Inarwa P.S. Case No. 06 of 2026. 10. Before parting, it is very strange that the cases where cough syrups containing codeine are recovered, the police is invariably filing cases under N.D.P.S. Act whereas in view of the notification of Central Government (supra) concentration of codeine being less than 2.5%, the quantity does not come under the ambit of contraband. Cough syrup containing codeine is only a schedule-H drug for which, the shopkeeper has to maintain register and he must be a licensed one. Such type of cases should be filed under Drugs and Cosmetic Act. It is only the violation of Drugs and Cosmetic Act whereas, police is invariably misusing the procedure. lata/- (Ashok Kumar Pandey, J) U T