Strict NDPS bail restrictions applied where commercial quantity recovery, compliant seizure, and flight risk weighed against release.

In an NDPS prosecution involving alleged recovery of commercial quantity cocaine, the Delhi HC applied the strict bail restrictions under Section 37 and found them not satisfied. The Court noted that search and seizure were conducted in compliance with statutory requirements, the accused had remained in custody since 24.06.2013, and the trial had substantially progressed with most prosecution witnesses examined. It also treated the seriousness of the offence and the risk of flight, given the accused's foreign nationality, as material factors weighing against release. Regular bail was therefore refused.

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Issues: Whether the petitioner was entitled to regular bail in a prosecution under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 involving recovery of commercial quantity, having regard to the restrictions under Section 37 of that Act.

Analysis: The petitioner was apprehended after taking delivery of a parcel which allegedly contained 185 grams of cocaine. The Court noted that the search and seizure were conducted in compliance with the statutory requirements, that the petitioner had been in custody since 24.06.2013, and that the trial had substantially progressed with most prosecution witnesses already examined. The offence was treated as serious, punishable with severe imprisonment, and the possibility of the petitioner fleeing from justice was considered material because he was a foreign national. In these circumstances, the statutory rigour governing bail in NDPS cases was held to weigh against release.

Conclusion: The petitioner was not entitled to regular bail and the request for bail was rejected.

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