NDPS commercial quantity bail denied where sampling challenge raised triable issues, not grounds for release at bail stage

In an NDPS matter involving a commercial quantity, bail was refused under the restrictive statutory framework because the sampling objection and claim of false implication were treated as issues for trial rather than grounds for release at the bail stage. The Court relied on contemporaneous records and the fact that each packet had been tested before the contents were mixed for sampling, and it distinguished precedents on their facts, including cases involving partial analysis or a later evidentiary stage. On that basis, it found no reasonable ground to hold that the seizure or the proceedings were vitiated, and bail was declined.

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Issues: Whether bail should be granted in an NDPS case involving a commercial quantity in the face of a challenge to the sampling procedure and the prosecution version of recovery.

Analysis: The application was considered under the restrictive bail framework applicable to offences involving commercial quantity. The challenge that the petitioner had been falsely implicated and that the sampling process vitiated the seizure was held to be a matter requiring proof at trial. The Court noted that the prosecution version was supported by contemporaneous records and that each packet had been tested before the contents were mixed for sampling. The cited precedents were distinguished on facts, including situations where only part of the seized material had been sent for analysis or where the decision had been rendered at a later stage after evidence had been led. At the bail stage, the Court found no reasonable ground to hold that the entire proceedings stood vitiated by the alleged sampling defect.

Conclusion: Bail was declined because the statutory limitations for commercial quantity offences were not satisfied and the sampling objection could not justify release at that stage.

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