The Court has granted bail to an Afghan national who was apprehended following the seizure of heroin from a co-accused at the Indira Gandhi International Airport.
The Delhi High Court has recently ruled that the weight of carriers such as towels and bedsheets, which are used to conceal drugs and narcotics, should not be considered when determining the quantity of the recovered substance under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act [Mohd Nasar v. Narcotics Control Bureau & Anr].
The decision was made by Justice Vikas Mahajan when granting bail to Afghan national Mohd Nasar in a drug case registered by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) in 2021. The case involved the recovery of two towels and bedsheets containing heroin from another Afghan national at the Indira Gandhi International Airport.
The Court found that the NCB had included the weight of the two towels and one bedsheet in the total contraband weight recovered from co-accused Hikamtuallah Hakimi. Justice Mahajan expressed a prima facie opinion that towels and bedsheets do not qualify as neutral substances, and their weight should not be considered when determining the quantity of seized contraband.
The stringent conditions for bail under Section 37 of the NDPS Act come into play when the recovered contraband is classified as of commercial quantity. The Court emphasized that there is no evidence at this stage to show that the weight of the actual contraband content, excluding the weight of the towels and bedsheet, is of commercial quantity.
The Court further examined other allegations against Nasar, particularly his meeting with co-accused Hakimi near Krishna Mandir in Malviya Nagar to collect the heroin. The Court found no evidence to indicate that Nasar had knowledge of the bag’s contents handed over to him by Hakimi. Additionally, the WhatsApp chats between the two were not verified, as the NCB had seized Nasar’s mobile phone.
Regarding Hakimi’s disclosure statement, the Court noted that the Supreme Court has ruled such statements are not admissible in evidence. Consequently, the Court concluded that the stringent conditions under Section 37 of the NDPS Act may not apply to Nasar.
The Court expressed satisfaction that there were reasonable grounds to believe Nasar was not guilty of the alleged offence. Given that Nasar had no prior involvement in NDPS Act offences or a criminal record, the Court granted bail subject to several conditions.
Advocate Zishaan Iskandari, Y K Singh, Sayema Mubin, Madhur Mittal, and Naved Ullah represented the petitioner, while Senior Standing Counsel Subhash Bansal with Advocate Shashwat Bansal represented the NCB.
