Drugs seized after Thar crash: Why Delhi High Court granted bail to accused driver in Chanakyapuri accident that killed 2

Case: Fatal accident, seizure

• On August 10, 2025, as per the petitioner’s father, after celebrating Raksha Bandhan, his son went out in the evening with some friends in a Thar vehicle, which the police said was rented.
• The petitioner’s father also told the The Indian Express that his son left his job as a driver approximately six months ago and was contemplating registering as a Rapido driver.
• As per the police, the accident happened when the vehicle was crossing the Gyarah Murti (Eleven Statues) landmark in the Chanakyapuri area of Delhi. The Mahindra Thar suddenly turned towards the pavement and hit two people walking on it.
• It was placed on record that both persons lost their lives in the accident.
• The police reached the spot with crime and forensic teams for inspection and seized the vehicle.
• It was claimed that a laptop bag was found in the vehicle, and 21.26 grams of ganja, 15.49 grams of tobacco, 0.30 grams of cocaine, 4.17 grams of charas, 23.47 grams of MD and 2.6 grams of LSD were also recovered from the vehicle.
• The petitioner was then charged not only for causing death by negligent and rash driving, but was booked under the various provisions of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act.
• It was also claimed by the state that the accused, during interrogation, revealed the names of those persons from whom he had procured those substances.
• The prosecution stated that one such person had been arrested by the police –Ndubusi, a Nigerian national – and he had allegedly supplied the contraband to the accused car driver.
• Ndubusi was arrested around two months after the accident.
• It was suspected that the petitioner was supplying drugs after receiving consignments from Ndubusi, which he distributed at parties and to individuals.

Observation: Chargesheet filed, bail granted

• The court took note of the status report filed by the investigating agency before the trial court and found that the chargesheet had already been filed, and the case is now listed for consideration on charges on April 8, 2026.
• The petitioner is granted bail, considering the overall facts of the case, his young age and the fact that he has no previous antecedents.
• The petitioner is directed to furnish Rs 25,000 with one surety of like amount to the trial court and is directed to be released on bail.

‘Young petitioner, suspicious substance’

• One of the advocates of the petitioner, Advocate Ujwal Ghai, pointed out that the petitioner is in his twenties and in the prime of his youth, with no previous involvement of any nature.
• He argued that there is not enough clarity on whether the substance alleged to be LSD is actually that.
• He even emphasised that the same was considered appreciated by the trial court in its order of December 2025, where it observed that there was no explanation submitted by the investigating agency stating the reasons for not testing the “suspicious substance”, LSD, immediately.
• He pointed out that the trial court held that there was no prima facie material at that stage to conclude that such substance was LSD.
• Ghai, however, admitted that other substances such as ganja, cocaine and charas fall within the ambit of ‘small quantity’, whereas MD falls within ‘intermediate quantity’.

‘No clarity about substance yet’

• On the contrary, Assistant Public Prosecutor Priyanka Dalal submitted that it cannot be presumed that the recovered substance was not LSD at this stage since there is conscious recovery of multiple contrabands and the relevant report is still awaited.
• She, however, does admit that the quantity of other contraband falls within the ambit of ‘small’ or ‘intermediate quantity’.