NDPS bail under Section 37 may be granted where the court finds reasonable grounds of innocence and no risk of reoffending.

In prosecutions under the NDPS Act, Section 37 is not an absolute bar to bail; the Court must be satisfied that there are reasonable grounds to believe the accused is not guilty and is unlikely to commit an offence while on bail. Applying that test, the Court noted the applicant's valid manufacturing licence, the retraction of the Section 67 statement as having been made under duress, and the unsettled position on the evidentiary use of such statements. On the material then available, the Court found that conviction was not inevitable and that the applicant was not likely to abscond or misuse liberty, so regular bail was granted.

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Issues: Whether the applicant was entitled to regular bail in view of the rigour of Section 37 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 and the reliance placed on the statement recorded under Section 67 of that Act.

Analysis: The complaint and investigation were based on alleged illicit manufacture and export of Tramadol tablets and alleged clandestine removal of Ephedrine and Pseudoephedrine. The Court noted that the applicant had a valid manufacturing licence on record, that the statement recorded under Section 67 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 was retracted as having been made under duress, and that the admissibility and evidentiary use of such a statement was already the subject of reference and competing judicial views. The Court further held that Section 37 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 is not an absolute bar to bail and that the Court must assess whether there are reasonable grounds for believing that the accused is not guilty and is unlikely to commit an offence while on bail. On the material then available, the Court found sufficient grounds to conclude that conviction was not inevitable and that the applicant was not likely to abscond or misuse liberty.

Conclusion: The applicant was held entitled to regular bail.

Ratio Decidendi: In prosecutions governed by Section 37 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985, bail may be granted where the Court is satisfied, on the material before it, that there are reasonable grounds for believing that the accused is not guilty and is not likely to commit an offence while on bail.

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