Manipur HC grants bail in NDPS case: twin test of Section 37 held met for passenger, over three and a half years in custody
The question: Whether bail can be granted in a commercial quantity NDPS case on the ground of long custody and slow trial without satisfying the twin test of Section 37
The High Court of Manipur has granted bail to a man arrested on 16 December 2022 under Sections 21(c), 29 and 60(3) of the NDPS Act, 1985, involving an alleged commercial quantity of narcotics found in a vehicle in which he was travelling. Justice A. Guneshwar Sharma held that the twin test under Section 37 of the Act was satisfied on the facts recorded in the order, and that he had been in custody for more than three and a half years with the trial moving slowly. The Court applied the Supreme Court's ruling in State of Punjab v. Balraj Singh @ Billa (2026 SCC Online SC 1058), para 17, and said that Section 37 must be satisfied in a commercial quantity case even where the plea is long incarceration. It found the test met on these facts: apart from being a passenger, nothing in the chargesheet was placed against the petitioner, he was not said to own the vehicle, and he had no earlier case. According to the prosecution, personnel of the 20th Assam Rifles, Tengnoupal, found 49 packets of brown sugar, about 2.163 kg including packing material, hidden inside the seat of a Mahindra Bolero on 16 December 2022. The driver and owner is alleged to have gone to the toilet and fled into the jungle. The petitioner and another passenger were arrested and an FIR was registered at Tengnoupal Police Station. A chargesheet was filed, Special Trial No. 34 of 2023 was registered before the Special Judge (NDPS), and the case stood at the stage of charge hearing. The Special Judge rejected his bail plea on 28 December 2023, noting that a commercial quantity had been recovered from the vehicle in which the two arrested persons were travelling. He then moved the High Court under Section 439 CrPC read with Section 37 of the NDPS Act. The judgment was reserved on 15 May 2026 and delivered on 10 September 2026.