Hyderabad: The Telangana high court has granted conditional bail to an accused arrested under the NDPS Act. The decision came after the forensic report confirmed that the seized material was not mephedrone but ephedrine, which is not included as a scheduled material under the NDPS Act.The high court issued the directions while dealing with a petition filed by the accused seeking bail in the case registered against him at the Bibinagar police station in the Rachakonda commissionerate in Nov 2024. Police had seized drugs worth over 20 crore, manufactured at a clandestine drug manufacturing unit in the Yadadri-Bhuvanagiri district.The petitioner claimed that he was falsely implicated in the case and that police mentioned the seized material’s name incorrectly as mephedrone in the FIR. He informed the court that the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) also confirmed that the seized material was ephedrine and not mephedrone.The petitioner further contended that two other accused in the case were already out on bail and that he was ready to cooperate with the investigation and abide by any conditions the court might impose on him.In response, the additional public prosecutor submitted that although the seized material was not mephedrone, the petitioner should not be granted bail as the investigation was still on.After hearing both sides, Justice Narsing Rao Nandikonda directed the petitioner to submit two sureties for 20,000 each and appear before the Bibinagar police between 11am and 2pm on the first and third Sunday of every month for a period of eight weeks or until the filing of the chargesheet, and thereafter whenever required by police.
