No different yardstick applied in actor Siddhanth Kapoor drug bust case, say Bengaluru police

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The move by the Bengaluru police in handling the drug bust case involving actor and DJ Siddhanth Kapoor has raised concerns on whether law enforcement agencies are applying different yardsticks in handling drug cases.
Two weeks ago, actor and DJ Siddhanth Kapoor and four others, were arrested by the Bengaluru police in a case registered under Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 following a raid on a nightclub at a five-star hotel.
The FIR suggested that the police invoked stringent, non-bailable sections of the NDPS Act – section 22 (b) for possession of an intermediate quantity (more than 0.5 grams and less than 10 grams of MDMA) of psychotropic drugs. However, soon after the arrest the actor and others were released on station bail after police suggested that it was a case of consumption of drugs – under section 27 (b) of the NDPS Act – a bailable offence with a maximum punishment of six months’ imprisonment.
However, it is different story in a drug bust case involving actresses Ragini Dwivedi and Sanjana Galrani in 2020. The actors and others, were arrested and imprisoned for several months after being booked under section 21 (c) of the NDPS Act for possession of manufactured drugs and 27 (b) for consumption.
The lawyers for the actors and others had cited the Rhea Chakraborty case in Mumbai to argue that since they were not found in possession of drugs they should be released on bail since consumption of drugs is a bailable offence under NDPS Act.
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