Jay Krishna Kumar v. The State Of Bihar
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA
CRIMINAL MISCELLANEOUS No.49381 of 2025 Arising Out of PS. Case No.-342 Year-2024 Thana- Excise P.S. District- Khagaria ====================================================== Jay Krishna Kumar, Male, aged about 26 years, S/o Ashok Singh, R/o VillagePansalwa, Ward No. 11, P.S.- Beldour, District- Khagaria ... ... Petitioner
Versus
The State of Bihar ... ... Opposite Party ====================================================== Appearance :
For the Petitioner :
Mr. Vidyapati, Advocate For the Opposite Party :
Mrs. Sharda Kumari, A.P.P.
====================================================== CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE CHANDRA PRAKASH SINGH ORAL ORDER 07-08-2025 Heard learned counsel for the petitioner and learned A.P.P for the State.
2. The petitioner has preferred this application for grant of regular bail in connection with N.D.P.S. Case No. 09 of 2025 (Special Case No. 13 of 2025) as well as Excise P.S. Khagaria Case No. 342 of 2024 dated 17.11.2024, arising out of Excise Case No. 1423C3/2024 registered for the offence punishable under Section 30(a) of the Bihar Prohibition and Excise (Amendment) Act, 2018.
3. Earlier the prayer for bail of the petitioner was rejected by a Bench of this Court in Cr. Misc. No. 8612 of 2025 vide order dated 18.03.2025, annexed as Annexure-P/1 to the present bail petition.
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4. As per the prosecution case, total 55 litres of Codeine Phosphate & Triprolidine HCL Syrup, RTX-scen Cough Syrup were recovered from the kitchen room of the house of the petitioner.
5. Learned counsel for the petitioner has submitted that the petitioner is innocent and has falsely been implicated in this case with ulterior motive and oblique purpose whereas he has not committed any offence. It is further submitted that nothing has been recovered from the physical and conscious possession of the petitioner. The seized article has been recovered from open kitchen which is an abandoned place and not concerned with the petitioner. It is further submitted that the total recovery of Codeine Phosphate and Triprolidine HCL Syrup is 55 litres but as per F.S.L. report, 0.0% Ethyl Alcohol content are present. The prosecution has been lodged against the petitioner under Section 30(a) of the Bihar Prohibition and Excise (Amendment) Act, 2018 not under the N.D.P.S. Act. The petitioner has clean antecedent as stated in paragraph no. 3 of the bail petition. The petitioner is in custody since 17.11.2024.
6. Learned A.P.P. for the State has vehemently opposed the bail petition of the petitioner by submitting that the seized contraband is commercial quantity i.e., 55 litres of
3/5 Codeine Cough Syrup and the petitioner has no any valid authorization for keeping the same. It is further submitted that this case comes under the N.D.P.S. Act and the Drugs and Cosmetics Act as per Section 80 of the N.D.P.S. Act. Learned A.P.P. for the State has placed reliance on the judgment in the case of Hira Singh and Anr. Vs. Union of India and Anr, (2020)20 Supreme Court Cases 272 where the Hon'ble Apex Court has held that "weight of entire materials/ mixture along with neutral material is to be considered for ascertainment of whether the quantity is "small quantity" or "commercial quantity". It is further submitted that codeine is mentioned in the Entry No. 28 of the N.D.P.S. Act. The act of the petitioner amounts to clear violation of Section 8 of the N.D.P.S. Act as it clearly prohibits possession of narcotic substance except medical and scientific purposes.
7. As per Section 37 of the N.D.P.S. Act, the two conditions are that the Court should be satisfied with:- (i) There are reasonable grounds for believing that the accused is not guilty of such offence; and (ii) He is not likely to commit any offence while on bail.
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8. If either of these two conditions is not satisfied, the bar operates and the accused cannot be released on bail. The Court is of the opinion that the parameters of bail available under Section 37 of the Act have not satisfied in the facts of the instant case. The Hon'ble Supreme Court in the case of Narcotics Control Bureau v. Mohit Aggarwal 2022 SCC OnLine SC 891 has held that "The length of the period of his custody or the fact that the charge-sheet has been filed and the trial has commenced are by themselves not considerations that can be treated as persuasive grounds for granting relief to the respondent under Section 37 of the N.D.P.S. Act."
9. Considering the aforesaid facts and circumstances of the case as well as the recovery of commercial quantity from the conscious possession of the petitioner, this Court is not inclined to grant bail to the petitioner again and the same is rejected in connection with N.D.P.S. Case No. 09 of 2025 (Special Case No. 13 of 2025) as well as Excise P.S. Khagaria Case No. 342 of 2024, arising out of Excise Case No. 1423C3/2024, pending in the court of learned Additional Sessions Judge-2nd-cum-Special Judge, Khagaria.
10. The application stands again rejected.
11. The learned trial court is directed to expedite the
5/5 trial of the petitioner and conclude the same at the earliest. (Chandra Prakash Singh, J) U.K./- U T