The petitioner, accused no. 1 in Crime No. 17/2025 registered at Annavaram Police Station for offences under Sections 20(b)(ii)(C), 25 read with 8(c) of the NDPS Act involving 137.080 kgs of ganja (commercial quantity), filed a criminal petition under Section 482 BNSS seeking pre-arrest bail. The petitioner claimed innocence and false implication, undertaking to abide by any bail conditions. The prosecution opposed, stating investigation was incomplete with material witnesses yet to be examined, and the petitioner was involved in possession and transportation of commercial quantity ganja.
The court perused the record and found the petitioner's role emerged from confessions of accused nos. 4 and 5, investigation was at a progressive stage, and accusations appeared well-founded. The court relied on Satpal Singh v. State of Punjab (2018) 13 SCC 813, where the Supreme Court held that courts cannot grant bail under Sections 438/439 CrPC without reference to Section 37 NDPS Act and without entering a finding on the required satisfaction level. The court also relied on Prabhulal & Anr. v. State of Rajasthan (1995 Supreme(Raj) 935), which observed that the legislative intent behind Section 37 NDPS Act makes anticipatory bail unavailable unless the court is satisfied the investigating agency is abusing the Act with malafide object. The court referred to Anarul SK v. State of West Bengal (2024) on the seriousness of anticipatory bail in NDPS cases.
The court concluded the request for pre-arrest bail was not convincing or reasonable given the progressive investigation stage and commercial quantity involved. The criminal petition was dismissed as devoid of merit, with any pending miscellaneous petitions closed.
