Authority: High Court at Calcutta, Criminal Miscellaneous Jurisdiction (Appellate Side)

Order Date: 13.11.2026

Case Overview

  • Parties: Petitioner – Majid Ali (also referred to as Majit Ali @ Alex); Respondent – Union of India (represented by DRI Authority).
  • Case Numbers: CRM (NDPS) 1363 of 2026; underlying NDPS Case No. N‑255 of 2025; DRI/KZU/NDPS/ENQ‑75/2025 dated 20.08.2026.
  • Nature of Proceedings: Bail application in a narcotics trafficking case under Sections 8(c), 22(b) and 29 of the NDPS Act, 1985, with the prosecution invoking Section 37 for commercial‑quantity cocaine.
  • Background:
  • On 19.08.2025 DRI officers intercepted two individuals, Sanu Khan and Md. Mehfoz Haiyat, leaving the office of M/s Shree Maruti Courier Service Private Limited (Topsia Road, Kolkata) after receiving a courier consignment from Delhi. The parcel, a soft toy, yielded 64.87 g of a white lumpy substance that tested positive for cocaine.
  • On 20.08.2025 a second parcel (Consignment No. 25035200224979, booked on 19.08.2025 from Delhi, Tigri Extension) addressed to “Mark William, 36, Beck Bagan, Kolkata – 700017” was opened at the courier office (3 Airport Gate, SGIL Residenzza Complex, Belghoria Express Highway). Inside a pink teddy‑bear, three oval‑shaped capsules containing 62 g of cocaine were recovered.
  • Later on 20.08.2025 Majid Ali was apprehended at Ballygunge–Hazra Road crossing. He disclosed that a Nigerian national, Flourish Ezenwa, arriving on Air India Flight AI 2400 at 23:15, was carrying cocaine concealed in her rectum. She ejected two capsules weighing a total of 131.40 g, which also tested positive for cocaine.
  • Investigation linked the consignments to Delhi operator Sandeep Kumar, who sent the parcels through Shree Maruti Courier on the instructions of a Nigerian national identified as “Mac”. The mobile number +234 8108148441, used by “Mac”, was found on the mobile phone seized from Majid Ali.
  • “Mac” was later identified as Akande Olamide John, a Nigerian national and alleged kingpin of a Delhi‑based drug syndicate, currently in judicial custody at Tihar Jail.
  • Prosecution Evidence:
  • Physical seizures of 64.87 g and 62 g of cocaine from two courier parcels, plus 131.40 g from the Nigerian lady – total commercial quantity of 126 g.
  • Consignment details (numbers 25035200224948 and 25035200224979), addresses, and phone number 9163675198 associated with the courier firm.
  • WhatsApp chat extracts from the mobile handset seized from Majid Ali, showing frequent communication with “Mac” (+234 8108148441) and references to the consignments and monetary transactions.
  • Digital forensic certification under Section 65B (though contested by defence) and bank receipts linking transactions to the alleged purchase of cocaine.
  • Petitioner’s Arguments:
  • Reliance on statements under Section 67 of the NDPS Act (co‑accused statements) which, per Tofan Singh v. State of Tamil Nadu (2021) 4 SCC 1, lack evidentiary value after charge‑sheet filing.
  • Absence of a Section 65B/Section 63 certification for the WhatsApp chats, rendering them inadmissible.
  • The chats pertain to accounts of co‑accused Sanu Khan, not the petitioner, and the mobile phone and SIM belong to a third party, Gaurav Gupta.
  • The alleged communications involve persons “Mac” and “Zen”, none of whom are named as the petitioner.
  • Even assuming the chats are valid, the monetary amounts correspond to purchase of only 5‑10 g of cocaine, far below commercial quantity, suggesting the petitioner was merely a consumer.
  • Cited Bharat Chaudhary v. Union of India (2021) 20 SCC 50 to argue that seized contraband was not linked to the petitioner.
  • Prosecution Counter‑Arguments:
  • The two courier parcels (64 g and 62 g) were sent under the petitioner’s instructions via Sanu Khan and Md. Mehfoz Haiyat.
  • The same mobile number (+234 8108148441) appears in chats on the petitioner’s seized phone and was provided by Sandeep Kumar as the contact of “Mac”.
  • Akande Olamide John (“Mac”) has been arrested in a separate Delhi case, confirming his role as the syndicate’s kingpin.
  • The recovered cocaine (total 126 g) constitutes a commercial quantity, invoking the stringent provisions of Section 37 NDPS Act.
  • Cited Supreme Court precedents (Ashish v. State of Maharashtra, SLP (Crl.) No. 526 of 2021; Narcotics Control Bureau v. Md. Nawaz Khan, Criminal Appeal No. 1043 of 2021) to underscore that possession of contraband by co‑accused does not absolve the petitioner when regular contact is established.

Final Outcome

  • The Court held that the petitioner failed to overcome the rigours of Section 37 NDPS Act.
  • Bail was denied; CRM (NDPS) 1363 of 2026 was dismissed.
  • All parties are directed to act on the server copy of the judgment downloaded from the official court website.

Topics: Bail Decision, Narcotics Trafficking, Digital Evidence