Commercial quantity NDPS bail: parity with a co-accused does not override Section 37's twin conditions.

Commercial quantity of Alprazolam attracted the strict bail bar under Section 37 of the NDPS Act, requiring the prosecution to be heard and the Court to find reasonable grounds that the accused is not guilty and unlikely to offend on bail. The Court treated this standard as stricter than a prima facie assessment and held that parity with a co-accused did not dilute the statutory restriction. The absence of any challenge to the co-accused's bail order was also held irrelevant. The accused's involvement in another similar NDPS case further weighed against release, and bail was rejected.

---

---

Issues: Whether bail should be granted in a prosecution involving commercial quantity of psychotropic substance under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985, and whether parity with a co-accused and absence of challenge to the co-accused's bail order could justify release.

Analysis: The allegation concerned recovery of a commercial quantity of Alprazolam, attracting the rigour of Section 37 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985. Under that provision, bail can be granted only when the prosecution is heard and the Court is satisfied that there are reasonable grounds for believing that the accused is not guilty and is not likely to commit an offence while on bail. The standard is stricter than a prima facie view. The plea for parity was rejected because the grant of bail to a co-accused does not dilute the statutory restrictions under Section 37. The fact that the prosecution did not challenge the co-accused's bail order was held to be of no consequence. The petitioner was also noted to be involved in another similar NDPS case, which weighed against grant of bail.

Conclusion: Bail was not justified and the application was rejected.

Final Conclusion: The statutory restrictions under the NDPS Act prevailed over the plea of parity, and the accused was found not entitled to bail.

Ratio Decidendi: In cases involving commercial quantity under the NDPS Act, bail cannot be granted unless the twin conditions of Section 37 are satisfied, and bail granted to a co-accused does not by itself relax that statutory bar.

---