India, Oct. 6 -- The Bombay High Court on Monday granted default bail to eight accused in a case involving the seizure of 1,837 kg of mephedrone (MD), ruling that the seriousness of the alleged crime and the massive quantity of drugs seized cannot override an accused's legal right to bail when the prosecution fails to follow the required procedure.

A single-judge bench of justice Milind Jadhav held that in cases involving commercial quantities of narcotics, investigators get 180 days to complete their probe, and any extension beyond that period must strictly comply with the safeguards laid down under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985.

The court said the huge quantity of drugs seized and the seriousness of t...