1 SNS IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT MUMBAI APPELLATE CRIMINAL JURISDICTION CRIMINAL BAIL APPLICATION NO.204 OF 2011 Chandrakant Chatursen Patil ...Applicant. v. The State of Maharashtra & Anr. ...Respondents. Shri Pankaj Purway i/by Shri Subhagh Hulyalkar, advs. For the Applicant. Ms P.P.Shinde, APP for the Respondent/State. WITH CRIMINAL BAIL APPLICATION NO.244 OF 2011 Gurunath Sakharam Chaphekar ..Applicant. v. The State of Maharashtra ...Respondent. Mr.V.G.Indrale ,adv. For the Applicant. Smt.R.V.Newton, APP For the Respondent/State. CORAM : J.H. BHATIA, J. DATED : FEBRUARY 28, 2011. P.C. 1 Both the applicants seeks to be released on bail in crime no. 3333 of 2010 registered at Bhosari police station, Pune under Section 20(b) of the N.D.P.S.Act. 2 Prosecution case, in brief, is that on 29.9.2010 at about midnight police got reliable information that two persons were likely to come to Bhosari market for selling Ganja on motorcycle therefore, after 2 making necessary preparations police party took a position on the concerned road. At about 1.45 a.m. the present applicants came on the motorcycle. They were halted. Accused no.1 Gurunath was driving motorcycle and accused no.2 Chandrakant was on pillion seat. Between them there were two plastic bags containing Ganja. Said plastic bags with Ganja weighed 14 kgs. 250 grams and 6 kgs. 250 grams. Samples were taken and duly sealed and seized. Panchanama was prepared on the spot. C.A. Report reveals that Ganja was detected in the samples. 3 The learned counsel for the applicants firstly contended that what was seized were not fruit toppings but were also leaves and stems and hence not ganja. However, in view of the definition of Ganja in Sections 2(b) Ganja is the flowering of fruiting tops of the cannabis plant excluding the seeds and leaves when not accompanied by the tops . From this it is clear that if seeds and leaves are accompanied by the fruiting tops, whole of the material would be treated as Ganja. 4 The learned counsel for the applicants also contended that the raiding party weighed Ganja including the bags containing ganja and, therefore, total weight includes weight of the bags also. According to them if the bags would have been separately weighed and only weight of ganja would have been taken, then possibly it would be less than 3 commercial quantity which is 20 kgs. In the present case, weight of one bag is 14 kgs. 250 gms. and weight of another bag is 6 kgs 250 gms but that include weight of bags also, therefore, it is not clear what was the exact weight of Ganja in the said bags. It is material as total weight was marginally above 20 kgs. If it would be commercial quantity, in view of the provisions of Section 37, bail could not be granted. However, if it is less than commercial quantity, stringent provisions of Section 37 would not be applicable and application for bail may be considered under sections 437 or 439 of the Cr.P.C. There is nothing to show that there were any criminal antecedents of the present applicants, particularly about offences under the N.D.P.S.Act. 5 Therefore, the applicants be released on their executing PR of Rs.50,000/- each with one or two solvent sureties in the like amount with condition that they shall not tamper with the prosecution evidence and shall also report at Bhosari Police station on every Sunday till the end of the trial. 6 Both the applications stand disposed off. (J.H. BHATIA,J.)