Tausif Mohammad Mustufa Saiyad vs State Of Gujarat

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The applicant filed a successive application for regular bail under Section 483 of the Bhartiya Nagrik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, in connection with an FIR registered at Rander Police Station, Surat City for offences punishable under Sections 8(c), 22(c) and 29 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985. The applicant had been in judicial custody since 25.09.2023 following a raid at his flat wherein Mephedrone was allegedly recovered from a cupboard in his residence.

The core contention advanced on behalf of the applicant was that the contraband substance was not found in his physical and conscious possession but in a cupboard, and that after deducting the weight of the plastic zip bag, the net quantity of Mephedrone would fall below the commercial quantity threshold of 50 grams, thereby taking the case outside the rigours of Section 37 of the NDPS Act. Reliance was placed on a Supreme Court decision concerning compliance with the procedure under Section 52A of the NDPS Act regarding preparation of inventory and drawing of representative samples before a Magistrate.

The Court examined the facts of the case in the context of the earlier bail application being Criminal Misc. Application No. 4232 of 2024 and considered arguments regarding the quantity of the contraband, the mode of recovery, compliance with statutory procedure, and the applicant's personal background including his age, marital status, and absence of prior criminal antecedents.

Catchwords: bail successive bail application NDPS Act Mephedrone commercial quantity intermediate quantity Section 37 NDPS Act conscious possession Section 52A NDPS Act inventory preparation representative samples Bhartiya Nagrik Suraksha Sanhita 2023 psychotropic substance contraband recovery