NDPS bail and commercial quantity recovery bar defeat regular bail where combined possession exceeded the statutory threshold.

In an NDPS bail matter, the Delhi HC treated the recovery as a common transaction where the petitioner and co-accused were found together in the same vehicle and the combined contraband exceeded commercial quantity. It held that the petitioner's reliance on his individual recovery alone could not displace the statutory bar at the bail stage, and that questions about conspiracy and alleged procedural violations were matters for trial. As the conditions for bail under Section 37 were not met, regular bail was declined and the application was dismissed.

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Issues: Whether regular bail should be granted in an NDPS case where the petitioner's individual recovery was below commercial quantity but the recovery from the petitioner and co-accused together exceeded commercial quantity, attracting Section 37 of the NDPS Act.

Analysis: The petitioner relied on the contention that only 555 grams of charas were recovered from him and therefore the rigours of Section 37 were inapplicable. The State opposed bail on the basis that the petitioner and the co-accused were travelling together in the same vehicle, the recovery was part of a common transaction, and the contraband had been split to avoid the statutory bar. The Court held that, at the bail stage, the factual plea of separate recoveries could not be accepted in isolation where both accused were apprehended together and the combined recovery exceeded commercial quantity. The Court further held that the question of conspiracy and the alleged violation of procedural safeguards would be examined at trial, and that the conditions for bail under Section 37 were not satisfied.

Conclusion: Bail was declined and the application was dismissed.

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