Delhi High Court – Orders
Mukesh Chauhan vs Narcotics Control Bureau on 22 July, 2025
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* IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI
+ BAIL APPLN. 644/2025
MUKESH CHAUHAN ..... Applicant
Through: Mr. Suresh Sisodia &
Mr. Sushant Dogra, Advs.
versus
NARCOTICS CONTROL
BUREAU .....Respondent
Through: Mr. Arun Khatri, SSC,
NCB with Mr. Devender
Singh, Ms. Anisha Maan
& Ms. Shelly Dixit, Advs.
CORAM:
HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE AMIT MAHAJAN
ORDER
% 22.07.2025
1. The present application is filed seeking regular bail in
Case No. VIII/01/DZU/2024, registered by NCB DZU, R.K.
Puram, for the offences under Sections 8(c)/9A/22/23/25/25A
27A/28/29 and 30 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic
Substances Act, 1985 (‘NDPS Act‘).
2. Briefly stated, on 17.01.2024, based on a secret
information, recovery of 2.946 Kgs of Methamphetamine was
made from one parcel bearing AWB No. 5115949005 at DHL
Express Pvt. Ltd. in Kirti Nagar, Najafgarh Industrial Area,
Delhi-110015 which was destined to Adelaide, Australia.
3. During investigation, it was revealed that the parcel was
booked through a Jaipur based DTDC franchise namely- Maa
Karni Enterprises, whose proprietor is stated to be one Mr.
Bhawani Singh, who was then given notice under Section 67 of
the NDPS Act.
4. It is alleged that Mr. Bhawani Singh, in response to the
aforesaid notice, disclosed that on 15.01.2024, the applicant had
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inquired from him regarding the alleged recovered parcel and
requested him to book the same from Delhi on 16.01.2024.
5. It is further alleged that the applicant had sent a photo of
the parcel to Mr. Bhawani Singh, along with a copy of the
Aadhar Card, Pan Card in the name of Aniket Singh as well as
the address of the consignee, through WhatsApp.
6. Thereafter, the applicant and another co-accused namely-
Pinku Singh Rajput were interrogated under Section 67 of the
NDPS Act. Based on their confessional statement, they were
arrested on 19.01.2024.
7. The learned counsel for the applicant submits that there is
no cogent evidence to link the present applicant to the alleged
recovery of the said contraband.
8. He submits that the respondent Department has not placed
on record any material evidence to show that the applicant had
knowledge of the alleged recovered parcel or that he was
involved in the logistical arrangement of the same.
9. He submits that there was no recovery effectuated from the
instance of the applicant or even at his residence.
10. Per contra, the learned Standing Counsel for NCB
vehemently opposes the grant of any relief to the present
applicant and submits that the present case involves recovery of
commercial quantity of contraband, and therefore, the rigours of
Section 37 of the NDPS Act are attracted against the present
applicant.
11. I have heard the learned counsel for the parties and
perused the record.
Analysis
12. It is settled law that the Court, while considering the
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application for grant of bail, has to keep certain factors in mind,
such as, whether there is a prima facie case or reasonable ground
to believe that the accused has committed the offence;
circumstances which are peculiar to the accused; likelihood of
the offence being repeated; the nature and gravity of the
accusation; severity of the punishment in the event of conviction;
the danger of the accused absconding or fleeing if released on
bail; reasonable apprehension of the witnesses being threatened;
etc.
13. The quantity of Methamphetamine recovered in the instant
case is commercial quantity. It is unequivocally established that,
to be granted bail, the accused charged with offence under the
NDPS Act must fulfil the conditions stipulated in Section 37 of
the NDPS Act. Section 37 of the NDPS Act reads as under:
“37. Offences to be cognizable and non-bailable.–(1)
Notwithstanding anything contained in the Code of Criminal
Procedure, 1973 (2 of 1974)–
(a) every offence punishable under this Act shall be
cognizable;
(b) no person accused of an offence punishable for
offences under Section 19 or Section 24 or Section
27-A and also for offences involving commercial
quantity shall be released on bail or on his own
bond unless–
(i) the Public Prosecutor has been given an
opportunity to oppose the application for
such release, and
(ii) where the Public Prosecutor oppose the
application, the court is satisfied that there
are reasonable grounds for believing that he
is not guilty of such offence and that he is not
likely to commit any offence while on bail.
(2) The limitations on granting of bail specified in clause (b)
of sub-section (1) are in addition to the limitations under the
Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (2 of 1974), or any other
law for the time being in force, on granting of bail.”
14. The allegations in the present case are regarding recovery
of commercial quantity of contraband. Once the rigours of
Section 37 of the NDPS Act are attracted, as provided under the
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Section, the Court can grant bail only when the twin conditions
stipulated in Section 37(1)(b) of the NDPS Act are satisfied, in
addition to the usual requirements for the grant of bail – (1) The
court must be satisfied that there are reasonable grounds for
believing that the person is not guilty of such offence; and (2)
That the person is not likely to commit any offence while on bail.
15. In the present case, it is alleged that the applicant is
involved in a syndicate of international drug cartel which is being
operated by three persons namely- Jaswinder Singh @ Vegas,
Inderdip Singh @ Ghost @ Grag and Ashish Satija @ Antoniyo
from Dubai/UK. It is alleged that the applicant collects/transports
the parcels containing Methamphetamine from locations in
Ludhiana, Punjab and Delhi.
16. It is alleged that the applicant in his statement dated 12-
13.01.2024 disclosed that one person namely- Inderdip Singh @
Ghost @ Grag had told him that someone will hand him over one
parcel in Delhi and the same had to be booked from Delhi.
17. He further disclosed that he had instructed co-accused
Pinku Singh to collect the parcel for which he reached Delhi on
15.01.2024 and at 4:30 p.m. collected the said parcel.
18. Thereafter, the applicant contacted Mr. Bhawani Singh
regarding the booking of the parcel and asked him to book the
same from Delhi on 16.01.2024 and informed the same to Garg
@ Ghost.
19. From a perusal of the status report filed by the respondent
Department, it is pertinent to note that photos of the recovered
parcel along with the documents of one person namely- Aniket
Singh used for booking the alleged parcel had been retrieved
from mobile phone of the applicant.
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20. The WhatsApp chats between the applicant and the
booking agent Mr. Bhawani Singh reveal that there had been a
discussion regarding the booking of the recovered parcel.
21. The CDR details of the applicant show that during the
period from 15.01.2024 to 17.01.2024, he was in frequent contact
with co-accused Pinku Singh as well as the booking agent Mr.
Bhawani Singh regarding the booking of the said parcel.
22. Further, the bank details of the applicant reveal that on
23.08.2023, the applicant had received an amount of ₹30,000/-
from the account of one person namely Harish Chawla, who is
alleged to have given an amount of ₹13,00,000/- in cash to
another member of the cartel namely Gurjit Singh in January
2024.
23. It is also pointed out by the learned Standing Counsel for
the respondent Department that the applicant along with the co-
accused Pinku Singh used to travel to Ludhiana, Punjab and
collect parcel from one person namely Satnam Singh. The said
fact is corroborated with the mobile phone locations of the
applicant and co-accused Pinku Singh.
24. It is pertinent to note that booking agent Mr. Bhawani
Singh had given a list of 8 parcels which were allegedly booked
by the applicant and co-accused Pinku Singh and all of them
were destined to Australia.
25. It is pointed out that one of the parcels booked by the
present applicant bearing AWB No. 787669140100 had been
seized by the Australian Border Force in December 2023.
26. In the opinion of this Court, the present applicant has not
been able to satisfy on the twin conditions as stipulated in
Section 37(1)(b) of the NDPS Act and there are reasonable
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grounds to believe that the applicant is guilty of the alleged
offence.
27. In such circumstances, this Court is of the opinion that the
applicant has not made out a prima facie case for grant of bail.
28. The present bail application is therefore dismissed.
29. It is clarified that any observations made in the present
order are for the purpose of deciding the present bail application
and should not influence the outcome of the trial and also not be
taken as an expression of opinion on the merits of the case.
30. The bail application is dismissed in the aforesaid terms.
AMIT MAHAJAN, J
JULY 22, 2025
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