India, Oct. 21 -- The Patna High Court has granted bail to a man held under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act over the seizure of codeine-based cough syrup, while criticising police for routinely booking such cases under the stringent NDPS Act instead of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act.

Justice Ashok Kumar Pandey, hearing the bail plea of Bharat Kumar in an NDPS case registered at Chautham police station in Bihar's Khagaria district, said it was "very strange" that police invariably filed NDPS cases over codeine cough syrup even when the drug's concentration fell within limits permitted by the Centre.

"Cough syrup containing codeine is only a Schedule-H drug for which the shopkeeper has to maintain a register and he ...