Weight of paper can't be counted while quantifying LSD: Bombay HC

Bombay High Court

Granting bail to a Thane resident who was allegedly found in possession of LSD doses and charas, the Bombay High Court on Monday observed that the weight of the paper used to carry LSD drops cannot be counted while determining the quantity of the contraband material - if it is small, intermediate or commercial as contemplated under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985.

According to a report in Hindustan Times, justice Sandeep Shinde said that the paper, which releases the drug on swallowing, only carries the drug and facilitates its consumption. "The paper with LSD drops, as a whole, is neither "preparation" nor a "mixture" within the meaning of the NDPS Act.

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The court stated that the Thane sessions court refused bail to the accused identified as Hitesh Malhotra, by wrongly including the weight of the papers used to carry the LSD drops in the total quantity of the contraband material.

On June 8, 2019, Malhotra was arrested by the Vartaknagar police in Thane, after he was allegedly found in possession of 10 pieces of papers laced with LSD drops. His house search led the police to 13 more pieces of LSD-laced papers and 970 gm charas.

Interestingly, Malhotra moved the high court for bail after the Thane sessions court refused him bail on the ground that the quantity of the contraband material recovered from him was commercial. Commercial quantity in the case of LSD is 0.1 gm and 1kg in the case of charas.

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Malhotra's counsel, advocate Suhas Oak pointed out that the total weight of the 10 pieces recovered from Malhotra was 140 milligram, but the weight of the other 13 papers was mentioned nowhere. On the basis of the chemical analyser's report, Oak claimed that the actual quantity of LSD recovered from the 39-year-old was 0.4128 milligram, much smaller than the commercial quantity (0.1 gm).

Oak further said that the recovered charas too was below the commercial quantity and therefore, there was no legal impediment in releasing the accused on bail. After furnishing a personal bond of Rs 1 lakh with two sureties in the same amount, Malhotra was granted bail.

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