1 CGHC010348802026 2026:CGHC:41248 NAFR HIGH COURT OF CHHATTISGARH AT BILASPUR MCRC No. 8390 of 2026  Beda Bero @ Bedbar Patro S/o Ujal Patro Aged About 32 Years R/o Sulesuru, Post- Manikara And P.S. Rampur, District- Kalahandi, Odisha. --- Applicant versus  State Of Chhattisgarh Through The Station House Officer Ghumka, Distt.- Rajnandgaon (C.G.) --- Non-applicant WITH MCRC No. 8395 of 2026  Dhanraj Patel S/o Late Bhagela Patel Aged About 38 Years R/o Nevnara, Tehsil Berla, P.S. Berla, Bemetra (C.G.) ---Applicant Versus  State Of Chhattisgarh Through The Station House Officer Ghumka, Distt. Rajnandgaon. --- Non-applicant For Applicant : Mr. Rakshit Agrawal, Adv. appearing through video-conferencing For Non-applicant : Mr. Jitendra Shrivastava, G.A. Hon’ble Shri Justice Rakesh Mohan Pandey Order On Board 2 22.09.2026 1) The applicants have preferred these First Bail Applications under Section 483 of Bhartiya Nagrik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 for grant of regular bail, as they have been arrested in connection with Crime No.152/2024, registered at Police Station Ghumka, District : Rajnandgaon ( C.G.) for the offence punishable under Sections 20(B)(II)(C) and 29 of NDPS Act. 2) Case of the prosecution, in brief is that on 24.10.2024 on the basis of information given by the informant, investigation officer seized 65.565 kg of Ganja, which was kept in 64 packets from the vehicle TATA DI 207 bearing registration No. CG 04 JB 1697 from possession of the present applicants. Thereafter, they were arrested in connection with the afore-stated offence. 3) Learned counsel for the applicants submits that applicant – Beda Bero has no criminal antecedent whereas applicant – Dhanraj Patel has one criminal antecedent u/s 34(2) of Excise Act pertaining to year 2019 and such antecedent has been duly explained in Part-D (Criminal Antecedents) of the present bail application. He further submits that one of the co-accused persons, namely, Mukesh Tiwari has been enlarged on bail by the Hon’ble Supreme Court in Special Leave to Appeal (Crl.) No. 6184/2026 whereas other co-accused persons, namely, Shatrughan Sahu and Anil Soni have been enlarged on bail by co-ordinate Bench in MCRC/5934/2026 and MCRC/6389/2026 3 He also submits that applicants are in jail since 24.10.2024 and conclusion of trial is likely to take time, therefore instant bail applications may kindly be allowed. 4) On the other hand, learned counsel appearing for the State/non- applicant would oppose the bail applications and submits that case of the present applicants does not stand on the same footing as that of the other co-accused persons as contraband article i.e. 65.565 Kg of Ganja was seized from the exclusive possession of present applicants, therefore, applicants are not entitled for grant of regular bail. 5) I have heard learned counsel for the parties and perused the case diary. 6) It appears that contraband article i.e. 65.565 kg of Ganja was recovered from the possession of the present applicants, which is well above the commercial quantity. It is contended by learned counsel for the applicants that other co-accused persons who were arrested in connection with the afore-stated offence have been enlarged on bail by the Hon’ble Supreme Court and co- ordinate Bench. However, sight cannot be lost to the fact that contraband article was recovered from the exclusive possession of present applicants and police authorities have implicated the other co-accused persons based on the memorandum statements of present applicants. 4 7) It is a well-settled principle of law that while considering bail, the court's role is confined to verifying the existence of a prima facie case and the recovery of contraband article from exclusive possession of present applicants indicates their prima facie involvement in the illegal transit of ganja, therefore, the rigour of Section 37 of the NDPS Act would squarely apply to the present case. 8) In view of the aforesaid discussion, I am not inclined to allow these applications. Accordingly, the instant bail applications are rejected. Sd./- (Rakesh Mohan Pandey) JUDGE A j i n k y a Digitally signed by AJINKYA PANSARE Date: 2026.09.24 11:21:28 +0530