Merely Receiving A Package Without Being Aware Of Illicit Contents Not 'Possession' Under NDPS Act: Delhi High Court

The Delhi High Court has ruled that merely receiving a package without the accused being aware of its illicit contents is not “conscious possession” under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985.

“The act of merely receiving a package, absent any material to suggest that the Applicant was aware of its illicit contents, prima facie, cannot by itself satisfy the legal threshold of “possession” under the NDPS Act,” Justice Sanjeev Narula said.

The bench thus granted bail to one Saneesh Soman in a case registered for the offences under Section 20(b), 22(c), 23(c), 27A and 29 of the NDPS Act.

As per the FIR, the accused had gone at a DTDC courier office in Kottayam, Kerala to collect a parcel containing 100 LSD paper blots, collectively weighing approximately 3.5 grams.

Soman was apprehended and the contraband was sealed and seized in accordance with law.

Granting him bail, the Court noted that the allegations against Soman were distinguishable from those levelled against other co-accused persons.

It said that the recovery of contraband was linked to the parcel Soman came to collect and that nothing was recovered from him at the time of arrest, nor the NCB conducted a search of his residence or unearthed any other material which would suggest involvement in the alleged drug trafficking network.

The Court also observed that there was no independent or contemporaneous evidence, such as CDRs, text messages, financial transactions, or any other corroborative material, linking Soman to the trafficking operation or demonstrating his prior knowledge of the contents of the parcel in question.

“There are no incriminating call records, financial transactions, or digital communications linking him to the co-accused or trafficking network. In the absence of such corroboration, and given the settled position that confessions under Section 67 are insufficient without supporting evidence, this Court is of the view that the benefit of doubt ought to enure to the Applicant at this stage,” the Court said.

“Accordingly, for the limited purpose of bail, there are reasonable grounds to believe that the Applicant is not guilty of the offence alleged. The first limb of Section 37(1)(b) of the NDPS Act is therefore satisfied,” it added.

Counsel for Petitioner: Ms. Soujhanya Shankaran, Mr. Piyush Kumar, Ms. Anushka B. and Mr. Vipin Kumar, Advocates

Counsel for Respondent: Mr. Arun Khatri, SSC with Ms. Shelly Dixit, Mr. Sahil Khurana and Ms. Iracy Sebastian, Advocates

Title: SANEESH SOMAN v. NARCOTICS CONTROL BUREAU

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