Woman Gets 8-Month Bail In Drug Case To Care For Ailing Baby

The Bombay High Court has granted interim bail for eight months to an accused woman lodged in a jail in a drug case on humanitarian grounds to allow her to take care of her sick infant daughter, who needs frequent medical attention and care.

In an order passed on Monday, a single bench of Justice Milind Jadhav said the infant needs her mother's care.

The woman was pregnant when she was arrested last year by the Directorate of Revenue (DRI) for allegedly carrying six kg of cocaine, leading to the registration of a case under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act.

Subsequently, she was granted interim bail for three months for delivery. On January 9, 2026, she delivered a girl prematurely.

After perusing the medical papers, the bench noted that the child has a neonatal history of respiratory distress and bronchopneumonia requiring prolonged NICU treatment.

Such treatment was given to the infant, but after three months the woman surrendered to the prison with the child, and since then she has been housed in prison along with her baby, the bench said.

The HC noted that the baby has a continuous illness after suffering a lower respiratory tract infection which required medication and frequent nebulisation.

It also remarked that the baby was admitted to hospital in July for breathlessness, fever and acute respiratory symptoms.

"The woman is required to provide acute care and support to the infant child, and she herself is required to take care of her own physiological self," the bench said.

The court held that it would be appropriate if the infant is brought up in the environs of the home and proper hospital care rather than jail, especially when the infant is required to be repeatedly taken for medical checkups and care.

The court granted eight-month bail to the woman and ordered her to appear before the concerned police station once a month.

"The medical reports which are prima facie placed before me, clearly bear out the status of the infant girl child which by any human consideration needs to be protected rather than provided with proper medical care," the court said.

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