Bombay High Court (Criminal Appellate Jurisdiction), Dr. Neela Gokhale, J., 6 October 2025 — Bail Application No.5293 of 2024, Fransis Augustin D’souza v. The State of Maharashtra: bail sought in C.R. No.152 of 2022 (ANC, Ghatkopar) for offences under Section 8(c) r/w Section 22(c) and Section 29 of the NDPS Act, an earlier application having been rejected by the Special Court, NDPS, Greater Bombay on 10 April 2024. Prosecution case: 154 grams of Mephedrone (MD) seized from the Applicant and 45 grams from co-accused Ashfak Ayub Shaikh on 28 June 2022. The Applicant's counsel relied on about three years and three months of incarceration, bail already granted to the co-accused on non-commercial quantity, and a discrepancy between the panchnama and the Magistrate's inventory (envelope Exhibit 'B') regarding the black coloured transparent plastic bag, urging an inference of no offence; the State (A.P.P.) replied that charges were framed with eight witnesses proposed, that the Assistant Police Commissioner's return letter showed the inventory omission to be a mere typographical error, that possession was conscious, and that the Applicant had an antecedent in C.R.No.58 of 2021 for a similar NDPS offence (250 grams of MD allegedly recovered; on bail therein). Held, dismissing the application: the discrepancy ground is sufficiently explained and 154 grams of MD was in fact seized; the Applicant admittedly has a similar NDPS antecedent; the recovered quantity invokes sections of the NDPS Act and the Court is prima facie not satisfied that the Applicant has not committed the offence; the trial is progressing substantially and is likely to conclude within a reasonable time. Bail application rejected; the Trial Court is requested to expedite the trial, the prosecution intending to examine only eight witnesses.
