- 1 - HC-KAR NC: 2026:KHC:34584 CRL.P No. 2298 of 2026 IN THE HIGH COURT OF KARNATAKA AT BENGALURU DATED THIS THE 9TH DAY OF JULY, 2026 BEFORE THE HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE S VISHWAJITH SHETTY CRIMINAL PETITION NO. 2298 OF 2026 BETWEEN: 1. MOHAMMAD AJINAS V S AGED ABOUT 28 YEARS, S/O AJEEM, RESIDING VADAKKE MULLAMGOTTU HOUSE, MUTTANGAL WEST POST, VADAKARA, CALICUT DISTRICT, KERALA 673 106 …PETITIONER (BY SRI. VIKRAM RAJ A.,ADVOCATE) AND: 1. STATE OF KARNATAKA REPRESENTED BY MANGALURU EAST POLICE STATION, DAKSHINA KANNADA DISTRICT. REP. BY STATE PUBLIC PROSECUTOR HIGH COURT BUILDING, BENGALURU - 560 001 …RESPONDENT (BY SRI.RANGASWAMY R., HCGP) THIS CRL.P IS FILED U/S 439 CR.PC (FILED U/S 483 BNSS) BY THE ADVOCATE FOR THE PETITIONER PRAYING THAT THIS HONOURABLE COURT MAY BE PLEASED TO ALLOW THIS PETITION AND ENLARGE THE PETITIONER ON BAIL IN SPL.CASE Digitally signed by SHARADAVANI B Location: High Court of Karnataka - 2 - HC-KAR NC: 2026:KHC:34584 CRL.P No. 2298 of 2026 NO.11/2022 FOR THE OFFENCE P/U/S 8(c),22(c),20(b)(ii)(A) OF NDPS ACT 1985 ARISING OUT OF CR.NO.81/2021 OF MANGALURU EAST P.S. NOW PENDING ON THE FILE OF PRL.DISTRICT AND SESSIONS JUDGE AT D.K MANGALURU AND ETC. THIS PETITION, COMING ON FOR ORDERS, THIS DAY, ORDER WAS MADE THEREIN AS UNDER: CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE S VISHWAJITH SHETTY ORAL ORDER 1. Accused No.1 in Special Case No.11/2022 pending before the Court of Principal District and Sessions Judge and Special Judge, Dakshina Kannada, Mangaluru, arising out of Crime No.81/2021 registered by Mangaluru East Police Station, Dakshina Kannada District, for offences punishable under Section 8(c), 22(c), 20(b)(ii)(A) of Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 (for short 'NDPS" Act), R/W Section 34 of IPC is before this Court in this successive bail application filed under Section 483 of BNSS, 2023, seeking regular bail. 2. Heard the learned counsel for the parties. - 3 - HC-KAR NC: 2026:KHC:34584 CRL.P No. 2298 of 2026 3. FIR in Crime No.81/2021 was registered by Mangaluru East Police Station, Dakshina Kannada District for offences punishable under Section 8(c) and 21(c) of the NDPS Act, as against the petitioner herein based on the first information dated 10.06.2021 received from Mr. T.R.Pradeep, Police Officer attached to Mangaluru East Police Station. In the said case, petitioner was arrested on 10.06.2021 and remanded to judicial custody. After completing investigation, charge sheet has been filed against three persons and petitioner is arrayed as accused No.1 in the charge sheet. Since his bail application was rejected by the trial Court, he had earlier approached this Court in Criminal Petition No.11831/2022, which was dismissed for non-prosecution. Subsequently, he had filed Criminal Petition No.7243/2023 which was dismissed on merits on 10.10.2023. Thereafter, he had filed Criminal Petition No.7523/2024 which was dismissed on 26.11.2024 on merits. Subsequently, he had filed a fresh bail application before the trial Court in Special Case No. - 4 - HC-KAR NC: 2026:KHC:34584 CRL.P No. 2298 of 2026 11/2022 which was dismissed by the trial Court on 05.01.2026. Therefore, he is before this Court. 4. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that petitioner is a youngster having no other criminal antecedents. In the present case, he is in custody for the last more than 5 years. Proceedings as against accused No.2 has been quashed by this Court and accused No.3 has been granted regular bail by the trial Court. Accordingly, he prays to allow the petition. 5. Per contra, learned HCGP who opposed the petition, however, does not dispute the submission made by learned counsel for the petitioner. He submits that commercial quantity of contraband article has been seized from the possession of petitioner in the present case. Petitioner hails from Kerala and in the event he is enlarged on bail, he may flee away from justice. Accordingly, he prays to dismiss the petition. - 5 - HC-KAR NC: 2026:KHC:34584 CRL.P No. 2298 of 2026 6. Material on record would go to show that based on credible information received on 10.06.2021 at about 03.45 p.m., a raid was conducted to the alleged spot where the accused was attempting to sell contraband article to the public and from the said spot, the petitioner was apprehended and from his possession 15.15 grams of LSD stamps, totally numbering 840 was recovered under a panchanama along with other articles. Subsequently, petitioner was arrested and remanded to judicial custody. 7. It is not in dispute that petitioner has no other criminal antecedent. He is in custody in the present case for the last more than 5 years. Out of the 38 charge sheet witnesses cited in the present case, as on this date, 12 charge sheet witnesses have been examined as PW1 to PW12. 8. The Hon'ble Supreme Court in the case of Chitta Biswas Alias Subhas Vs. State of West Bengal reported in 2020 SCC Online SC 1536 taking into - 6 - HC-KAR NC: 2026:KHC:34584 CRL.P No. 2298 of 2026 consideration that the accused was in custody for a period of one year seven months and there was no sufficient progress in trial, without expressing any opinion on merits and demerits of the case, has granted regular bail to the accused. 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. 9. The Hon'ble Supreme court in the case of MOHD. MULSIM ALIAS HUSSAIN V. STATE (NCT OF DELHI) - 2023 SCC ONLINE SC 352 in paragraph number 20 and 21 has observed as follows:- "20. A plain and literal interpretation of the conditions under Section 37 (i.e., that Court should be satisfied that the accused is not guilty and would not commit any offence) would - 7 - HC-KAR NC: 2026:KHC:34584 CRL.P No. 2298 of 2026 effectively exclude grant of bail altogether, resulting in punitive detention and unsanctioned preventive detention as well. Therefore, the only manner in which such special conditions as enacted under Section 37 can be considered within constitutional parameters is where the court is reasonably satisfied on a prima facie look at the material on record (whenever the bail application is made) that the accused is not guilty. Any other interpretation, would result in complete denial of the bail to a person accused of offences such as those enacted under Section 37 of the NDPS Act. 21. The standard to be considered therefore, is one, where the court would look at the material in a broad manner, and reasonably see whether the accused's guilt may be proved. The judgments of this court have, therefore, emphasized that the satisfaction which courts are expected to record, i.e., that the accused may not be guilty, is only prima facie, based on a reasonable reading, which does not call for meticulous examination of the materials collected during investigation as held in Union of India v. Rattan Malik." 10. In the case of SHEIKH JAVED IQBAL @ ASHFAQ ANSARI @ JAVED ANSARI VS STATE OF UTTAR PRADESH - 2024 SCC OnLine SC 1755, the - 8 - HC-KAR NC: 2026:KHC:34584 CRL.P No. 2298 of 2026 Hon'ble Supreme Court in paragraph 32, has observed as under: "32. This Court has, time and again, emphasized that right to life and personal liberty enshrined under Article 21 of the Constitution of India is overarching and sacrosanct. A constitutional court cannot be restrained from granting bail to an accused on account of restrictive statutory provisions in a penal statute if it finds that the right of the accused-undertrial under Article 21 of the Constitution of India has been infringed. In that event, such statutory restrictions would not come in the way. Even in the case of interpretation of a penal statute, howsoever stringent it may be, a constitutional court has to lean in favour of constitutionalism and the rule of law of which liberty is an intrinsic part. In the given facts of a particular case, a constitutional court may decline to grant bail. But it would be very wrong to say that under a particular statute, bail cannot be granted. It would run counter to the very grain of our constitutional jurisprudence. In any view of the matter, K.A. Najeeb (supra) being rendered by a three Judge Bench is binding on a Bench of two Judges like us. 11. Considering the fact that petitioner has no other criminal antecedent and he is now in custody in the present case for the last more than 5 years, I am of the view that without expressing any opinion on the merits - 9 - HC-KAR NC: 2026:KHC:34584 CRL.P No. 2298 of 2026 and demerits of the case, his prayer for grant of regular bail needs to be answered affirmatively on the ground of his incarceration. Apprehension expressed by learned HCGP can be taken care of by imposing appropriate conditions. Accordingly, the following: ORDER (i) The Criminal petition is allowed. (ii) The petitioner is directed to be enlarged on bail in Special Case No.11/2022 pending before the Court of Principal District and Sessions Judge and Special Judge at D.K. Mangaluru, arising out of Crime No.81/2021 of Mangaluru East P.S., for the offences punishable under Section8(c), 22(c), 20(b)(ii)(A) of NDPS Act, 1985,R/W Section 34 of IPC subject to the following conditions: (a) Petitioner shall execute a personal bond for a sum of Rs.1,00,000/- (Rupees One Lakh only) with two sureties for the likeusm (out of which one surety - 10 - HC-KAR NC: 2026:KHC:34584 CRL.P No. 2298 of 2026 shall be local surety), to the satisfaction of the jurisdictional Court; (b) 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) Petitioner shall not directly or indirectly threaten or tamper with the prosecution witnesses; (iv) Petitioner shall not involve in similar offences in future; (v) Petitioner shall surrender his passport, if any, to the trial Court and the same shall be subject to the orders that may be passed by the said court. Sd/- (S VISHWAJITH SHETTY) JUDGE tsn*