The Calcutta High Court on Monday granted bail to a medicine shop owner arrested for allegedly storing large quantities of codeine-based cough syrup and Tramadol mixture, observing that the West Bengal government failed to produce any notification prescribing a ceiling on storage of such medicines.
Justice Tirthankar Ghosh held that the prosecution could not establish that the seized substances were not meant for medicinal or scientific purposes, a necessary element to attract offences under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act (NDPS Act).
The petitioner, Vijay Prakash Goel, who runs a licensed medicine shop in Howrah, was arrested in April 2025 after the alleged recovery of 158.8 litres of codeine-mixed cough syrup and two packets of Tramadol mixture capsules. According to the prosecution, he could not produce supporting documents at the time of seizure.
Goel moved the High Court seeking bail, contending that he was a licensed dealer and had been illegally detained under the NDPS Act.
The State opposed the bail plea, arguing that a huge quantity of codeine mixture and Tramadol tablets had been recovered and that the arrest was carried out in accordance with law.
The Court noted that while the NDPS Act can be invoked against licensed dealers who engage in illegal activities under the guise of a licence, the prosecution must place material showing illegal procurement, illegal sale, absence of stock entries, or non-maintenance of statutory records.
Justice Ghosh observed that the State had only established seizure of the medicines but failed to show that they were not meant for legitimate medicinal use.
Significantly, the Court pointed out that no circular, notification, or office order was produced to show that West Bengal prescribes a maximum storage limit for codeine-based cough syrup for wholesalers or retailers.
In contrast, the Court referred to an office order of the Uttar Pradesh Food Safety and Drug Administration (FSDA), which fixes a storage ceiling of 1,000 bottles (100 ml each) for wholesalers and 100 bottles for retailers at any given time.
“The State of West Bengal could not produce any office order, notification, circular which deter any wholesaler or retailer from storage of such material which is cough syrup or any codeine based cough syrup,” the Court observed.
The Court reiterated that mere possession of such medicines by a licensed dealer does not automatically constitute an NDPS offence unless there is material indicating diversion for illicit use.
Since the prosecution failed to demonstrate that the seized stock was illegally procured, sold, or unaccounted for, the Court held that the rigours of the NDPS Act were not attracted at this stage.
On these findings, the High Court granted bail to the petitioner, holding that the State had not made out a prima facie case warranting continued custody under the NDPS Act.
