Regular bail in pseudoephedrine seizure case granted as Section 37 NDPS rigour was held inapplicable on facts.

Regular bail was granted in a case involving seizure of pseudoephedrine because the Court treated the substance as a controlled commodity and held that the stringent rigour of Section 37 of the NDPS Act was not attracted on the facts. The petitioner's custody of about four months and absence of criminal antecedents supported release, and the Court declined to examine the merits in detail at the bail stage while imposing safeguards.

---

---

Issues: Whether the petitioner was entitled to regular bail in a case involving seizure of pseudoephedrine, and whether the rigour of Section 37 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 applied.

Analysis: The petitioner was in custody for about four months and had no criminal antecedents. The Court accepted that pseudoephedrine is a controlled commodity and, on that basis, held that the stringent conditions of Section 37 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 were not attracted on the facts of the case. The Court also declined to examine the merits in detail at the bail stage, while considering the circumstances of the case as sufficient to justify release on bail with safeguards.

Conclusion: Bail was granted to the petitioner.

---