1 CGHC010318432026 2026:CGHC:36562 NAFR HIGH COURT OF CHHATTISGARH AT BILASPUR MCRC No. 7580 of 2026 Aanand Tirkey S/o Madwari Ram Aged About 34 Years R/o Village Jholanga, P.S. Lodama, District- Jashpur (C.G.) ... Applicant(s) versus State Of Chhattisgarh Through Police Station Kusmi, District- Balrampur- Ramanujganj (C.G.) ... Respondent(s) For Applicant(s) : Mr. D.N. Prajapati, Advocate. For Respondent(s) : Ms. Ritika Verma, Panel Lawyer. Hon'ble Mr. Ramesh Sinha, Chief Justice Order on Board 17/08/2026 1. This is the first bail application filed under Section 483 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (for short ‘BNSS’) for grant of regular bail to the applicant who has been arrested in connection with Crime No. 28/2026 registered at Police Station Kusmi, District- Balrampur- Ramanujganj (C.G.), for the offence AKHILESH KUMAR DEWANGAN Digitally signed by AKHILESH KUMAR DEWANGAN 2 punishable under Section 21(C) of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985. 2. Case of the prosecution, in brief, is that on 16.03.2026, as per receiving secret information regarding illegal transportation of narcotic cough syrup, the police reached in front of Eklavya School, Kusmi, where co-accused Asif Ansari alias Bablu was found carrying 13 bottles of Onerex cough syrup containing Codeine Phosphate and Triprolidine Hydrochloride. During investigation, on the basis of his memorandum statement, the memorandum of the present applicant/accused Anand Tirkey was recorded, pursuant to which 16 bottles of Onerex cough syrup were recovered from beneath the driver's seat of Bus No. JH-03- AQ-3029. Accordingly, the applicant and co-accused were arrested and an offence under Section 21(c) of the NDPS Act was registered against them. 3. Learned counsel for the applicant submits that the applicant has been falsely implicated in this case and he is in jail since 16.03.2026. He further submits that the present applicant is employed as a bus driver and was driving the passenger bus in question, a carton was handed over to the applicant by the owner of a medical shop at Kusmi, with instructions to deliver the same at Rajpur. The applicant had merely kept the said carton in the bus in the course of his duty. Subsequently, when the police seized the carton, the applicant disclosed that it had been handed 3 over to him by the medical shop owner. Thereafter, the applicant has been implicated in the present case. Thus, the applicant had no knowledge of the contents of the carton and there is no material to establish his conscious possession or knowledge of the alleged contraband. He also submits that the mandatory provisions with regard to search and seizure were not complied with in this case and the conclusion of the trial may take quite long time. Accordingly, he prays for enlarging the applicant on regular bail. 4. Learned counsel appearing for the State/non-applicant opposes the bail application and submit that the charge-sheet has been filed in the present case before the competent Court. She further submits that the allegation against co-accused, Asif Ansari alias Bablu is that he was found in possession of 13 bottles of Onerex cough syrup containing Codeine Phosphate and Triprolidine Hydrochloride, whereas from present applicant, Anand Tirkey, 16 bottles of the said cough syrup were recovered beneath the driver's seat of the bus being driven by him, the seized quantity of contraband article is much above the commercial quantity prescribed under the NDPS Act, therefore, the applicant is not entitled for grant of bail. 5. I have heard learned counsel appearing for the parties and perused the case diary. 4 6. From perusal of the case diary, it transpires that the contraband articles i.e. 13 bottles of Onerex cough syrup containing Codeine Phosphate and Triprolidine Hydrochloride were recovered from co-accused and 16 bottles of the said cough syrup were recovered from the possession of present applicant kept beneath the driver's seat of the bus being driven by him, the said quantity of contraband article is much above the prescribed commercial quantity threshold under the NDPS Act and counsel for the applicant has failed to give plausible explanation regarding the same, it cannot be a case of false implication, thus in view of the seriousness of the offence, this Court is of the opinion that it is not a fit case to enlarge the applicant on bail. 7. 7. Accordingly, the bail application of the applicant - Aanand Tirkey, involved in Crime No. 28/2026 registered at Police Station Kusmi, District- Balrampur- Ramanujganj (C.G.), for the offence punishable under Section 21(C) of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985, is rejected. 8. Needless to say that the trial Court concerned is at liberty to proceed and conclude the trial expeditiously. 9. Office is directed to send a certified copy of this order to the trial Court concerned for necessary information and compliance. - Sd/- (Ramesh Sinha) Chief Justice Akhil