HC grants bail to a man caught with 29 kg bhang; says it does not fall under NDPS Act

NT Correspondent

Bengaluru

 Terming that ‘Bhang’ is not covered under the Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, the High Court of Karnataka released a man arrested with 29 kg of the substance.

The Court said, “There is no scientific evidence before this Court to show that Bhang is prepared out of either charas or ganja or ganja leaves.” It also noted that ganja leaves and seeds are excluded from the definition of ganja and “nowhere in the NDPS Act the Bhang is referred to as a prohibited drink or prohibited drug.”

The Begur police had arrested Roshan Kumar Mishra, from Bihar on June 1, from near the Q Grill Bar and Restaurant in Chikkabeguru. They had recovered 29 kg of ‘branded’ Bhang and also 400 grams of ganja from him.

Mishra’s bail petition was rejected by a Special court after which he approached the High Court. He was granted bail by Justice K Natarajan on August 26. Mishra’s advocate, S Manoj Kumar, argued that “Bhang is a drink normally sold in the lassi shops in north India. It is not a prohibited drug. The said drink is used during the Shivarathri festival and it is not a banned drink and does not fall under the NDPS Act.”

 The Government advocate however contended that bhang was prepared out of ganja leaves and therefore it comes under the definition of ganja.

The HC referred to two earlier judgements; Madhukar vs The State of Maharashtra and Arjun Singh vs State of Haryana. In both the cases, it was held that bhang was not ganja and did not come under the NDPS Act.

 The HC in its judgement said that till the forensic science lab gives its report, it cannot confirm that bhang is prepared out of charas or ganja. Since Mishra was under custody since arrest, he was therefore eligible for bail.

Mishra also had 400 grams of ganja on him when arrested. Since it was a small quantity, he was still eligible for bail.

 He was directed to execute a personal bond of Rs 2 lakh as a bail condition.