Delhi High Court Grants Bail To HIV-Positive Woman Accused Of Carrying 10 Kg Ganja With Fake NIA Credentials

The Court further took into account the petitioner’s medical condition, observing that she was HIV-positive, immunocompromised, and required uninterrupted antiretroviral therapy and continuous medical supervision.

The Court held that while impersonation of a law-enforcement officer was a serious allegation, the offences under the BNS carried a maximum punishment of three to seven years, the petitioner had already spent over six months in custody, and the trial was likely to take considerable time.

Justice Prateek Jalan observed, “Taking all the relevant factors into account, particularly the intermediate quantity of ganja involved, thus rendering Section 37 of the NDPS Act inapplicable, the stage of proceedings, maximum sentence for the offences charged, and the petitioner’s serious medical condition, on balance, I am of the view that it is not appropriate to deprive her further of her liberty pending trial”.

“…The medical condition of the petitioner, including the fact that she is immunocompromised and requires uninterrupted medical care and antiretroviral therapy, is also a relevant consideration while adjudicating the present application for bail”, the Bench further observed.

Advocate Rahul Sharma appeared for the petitioner and Puneett Singhal, SPP appeared for the respondent.

On November 08 2025, the petitioner was intercepted by Customs officials at Terminal-3 of Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport after arriving from Bangkok on Air India flight AI-2335.

She was stopped near the airport exit on the basis of spot profiling, following which a search of her baggage led to the recovery of over 10 kilograms of ganja allegedly concealed in her trolley bag.

During the investigation, authorities also recovered a fake NIA identity card and an NIA-branded jacket from the petitioner. The prosecution alleged that she had used the forged credentials to facilitate multiple trips from Bangkok and evade scrutiny at the airport.

In her statement to investigators, the petitioner allegedly disclosed that she had earlier undertaken three similar foreign trips at the instance of a person identified as "Ali". She claimed that she was paid ₹50,000 for each bag delivered and was provided fake NIA credentials to facilitate the transportation of baggage from Bangkok to Delhi.

Considering the factual matrix and the arguments advanced, the Bench rejected the prosecution’s contention that the petitioner was the leader of a drug trafficking syndicate, the Court noted that even according to the prosecution's case, she had allegedly acted under the instructions of another individual. Holding that continued incarceration pending a likely protracted trial was unwarranted in the circumstances, the Court directed her release on bail subject to conditions.

“The allegation of impersonation of law enforcement officers is, in my view, a significant factor against the petitioner in this case. However, on balance, I am not inclined to decline bail solely on this ground. The maximum punishment prescribed under Sections 204 and 205 is imprisonment for three years, whereas the offences under Sections 337 and 339 are punishable with imprisonment up to seven years. The allegations are yet to be tested at trial, and the petitioner has already remained in custody for more than six months. As noted above, the trial is likely to take considerable time, particularly as none of the 16 prosecution witnesses have been examined thus far”, the Bench said.

Cause Title: X v. State NCT Of Delhi (Neutral Citation: 2026:DHC:4945)

Appearances:

Petitioner: Rahul Sharma, Shivanshu Yadav, Manninder Singh and Ujjwal Pandey, Advocates.

Respondent: Puneett Singhal, SPP along with Yashi Pandey, Advocate.

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