Section 20 of the NDPS Act: Cannabis Offences, Punishment and Bail Explained (2026)

Explainer · NDPS Act

Updated for 2026 · Claw Editorial

Section 20 of the NDPS Act 1985 punishes offences involving cannabis (ganja, charas and hashish): cultivating it, producing it, possessing it, selling it and transporting it. The punishment depends on the quantity, which is split into small, less than commercial (often called intermediate) and commercial, and the same split decides whether bail is realistic. If you have a cannabis case in front of you, the first question is always the same: how much was seized, and how was it weighed?

01What Section 20 of the NDPS Act covers

Section 20 is the cannabis section of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985. It makes it an offence to deal in cannabis in almost any way, unless the law or a licence allows it.

The acts it punishes

Section 20 punishes anyone who cultivates a cannabis plant (clause (a)). It also punishes anyone who produces, manufactures, possesses, sells, purchases, transports, imports inter-State, exports inter-State or uses cannabis (clause (b)). Possession is the charge seen most often in court.

What counts as cannabis

The Act defines cannabis (hemp) to include charas (the resin), ganja (the flowering or fruiting tops of the plant) and any mixture of these. Bhang, meaning the leaves and seeds, is treated differently under the Act, and State rules on it vary. Because the three forms are treated alike under Section 20 but have different weight limits, you must always check which form was seized.

02Clause structure of Section 20: 20(a), 20(b)(i) and 20(b)(ii)

Section 20 is easy to read once you see its layout. Lawyers quote it as "20(b)(ii)(C)" because each bracket narrows the offence and the punishment.

So when someone asks "what is 20(b)(ii)", the answer is this: it is the part of Section 20 that punishes dealing in cannabis other than the plant, such as ganja and charas, and it carries three punishment tiers, (A), (B) and (C), based on quantity.

In a Section 20 case, the quantity seized decides the clause, the clause decides the punishment, and the punishment decides the bail strategy.

03The punishment ladder under Section 20(b)(ii)

The punishment under Section 20(b)(ii) rises sharply with quantity. The table below shows the three tiers.

For cultivation under 20(a), and for offences relating to the cannabis plant under 20(b)(i), the punishment is rigorous imprisonment up to 10 years and fine up to Rs 1 lakh.

The gram thresholds

The Central Government fixes "small" and "commercial" quantity by notification, under Section 2(viia) and Section 2(xxiiia). For the two forms you will meet most often, the widely cited figures are:

Anything above the small quantity and below the commercial quantity falls in the middle tier. For ganja that is above 1 kg and below 20 kg. For charas it is above 100 grams and below 1 kg.

Two cautions apply. First, the weight that counts is usually the weight of the whole seized material, not only the pure drug, for forms like ganja and charas. Second, thresholds can be amended by notification, so always check the current schedule.

04Is Section 20 of the NDPS Act bailable?

Offences under Section 20 are not bailable as of right. They are generally treated as non-bailable, which means the court has discretion, and what it can do depends on the quantity.

Small quantity

For a small quantity under 20(b)(ii)(A), the stricter bail test in Section 37 does not apply. Bail is decided under the ordinary rules of the criminal procedure code, and because the maximum is one year, courts commonly grant bail.

Less than commercial quantity

For the middle tier, 20(b)(ii)(B), Section 37 also does not apply, because its special conditions are tied to offences involving commercial quantity. The court weighs the usual factors: the quantity, the stage of the trial, the risk of flight, the accused’s record, and whether the search and seizure rules were followed.

Commercial quantity and the Section 37 bar

For commercial quantity under 20(b)(ii)(C), Section 37 sets twin conditions. The Public Prosecutor must be given a chance to oppose the bail. The court must then be satisfied that there are reasonable grounds to believe the accused is not guilty, and that the accused is not likely to commit any offence while on bail. These are hard conditions to meet at the bail stage, which is why bail in commercial quantity cases is much more difficult.

Courts have also stressed that Section 37 must be applied with care, and that long delay in trial can weigh in favour of bail. A bail application in such a case normally leans on grounds such as procedural defects, doubts over the weight of the contraband, or the accused’s role.

For the full picture across all NDPS offences, see our guide to NDPS bail.

05Points that often decide a Section 20 case

Because the quantity fixes the punishment, most disputes in a Section 20 case turn on a handful of practical points.

• Weighing and sampling: whether the material was weighed correctly, whether samples were drawn properly, and whether the sample was sent for testing without delay.
• Is it really cannabis: whether the lab report confirms the seized material is ganja or charas, and not only plant leaves or seeds.
• Mixing of quantities: whether several small packets were wrongly added together to reach a higher tier.
• Search and seizure rules: whether the mandatory steps under the Act, such as recording grounds and informing the accused of the right to be searched before a Gazetted Officer or Magistrate, were followed.
• Possession: whether conscious possession is proved, especially in vehicle and shared-premises cases.

Each of these can move a case from one tier to another, or weaken the prosecution altogether. A lawyer should read the seizure memo and the lab report before anything else.

Research on how courts have handled these points is easier with a good strategy tool. See our guide to AI litigation strategy tools in India.

06Where Claw fits

Claw is an all-in-one legaltech platform for Indian advocates, law firms, and corporate legal teams, combining AI-based case search, an AI legal assistant (Legal GPT), case management, and compliance automation across all Indian courts and tribunals.

A Section 20 case turns on how courts have read weighing, sampling and the Section 37 bar, and that reading sits in past orders. Claw tracks cases, orders and hearings across 9,102 courts, benches and forums, with 30 crore+ judgments, Supreme Court records from 1950 and High Courts from 1990, and results in under 5 seconds, so you can find how a particular court has treated bail in a commercial quantity cannabis case, or follow a live matter by party or advocate. Claw does not use customer documents to train AI models.

Create a FREE Claw account to research Section 20 orders and track a live NDPS case. To search the wider body of law, see case search across Indian courts.

07Sources and further reading

Primary sources for this page:

• NDPS Act, 1985 (Sections 2, 20 and 37): indiacode.nic.in
• Department of Revenue, punishment for offences: dor.gov.in
• Claw: clawlaw.in

Last verified: October 2026. This page is general information, not legal advice. Thresholds and punishments can change by amendment or notification, so check the current text before you rely on it.

08Frequently asked questions