Section 37 NDPS bail relief despite commercial quantity, where only an uncorroborated co-accused statement linked the accused.

Under the restrictive bail framework of Section 37 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985, bail may still be granted where the record does not furnish reasonable grounds to believe the accused is guilty or likely to reoffend on bail. Here, the petitioner was not shown to be in possession of any contraband, the seizure was from other accused persons, and the only connecting material was a co-accused's statement under Section 67, which was denied and remained uncorroborated. On that material, the Court found no cogent basis to deny liberty and held that bail was permissible.

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Issues: Whether bail should be granted to the petitioner in view of the statutory restriction under Section 37 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985, where the alleged contraband was of commercial quantity and the case against the petitioner rested principally on a co-accused's statement.

Analysis: The petitioner was not shown to have been found in possession of any contraband, and the seizure was from other accused persons. The only connecting material was a purported statement of a co-accused under Section 67 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985, which was denied by the petitioner. In considering bail under the restrictive framework of Section 37, the Court applied the principle that the materials must disclose reasonable grounds for believing that the accused is not guilty and is not likely to commit an offence while on bail. On the record before it, the Court found that the prosecution material did not establish a probability of conviction against the petitioner and did not provide cogent grounds to deny liberty.

Conclusion: Bail was found to be permissible despite the embargo under Section 37, and the petitioner was entitled to be enlarged on bail.

Ratio Decidendi: In a bail application involving commercial quantity under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985, the Court may grant bail where the available material does not furnish reasonable grounds to believe that the accused is guilty or likely to reoffend on bail, and a mere co-accused's statement without corroborating recovery or other cogent material is insufficient to negate bail.

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