Giving anticipatory bail in NDPS Act case ‘very serious’ issue, unheard of: Supreme Court

A general view of the Supreme Court of India. File
| Photo Credit: The Hindu

“Granting anticipatory bail in a case registered under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act is a “very serious” issue and “unheard of”,” the Supreme Court said on Thursday (September 19, 2024).

A Bench headed by Justice B.R. Gavai and also comprising Justices Aravind Kumar and K.V. Viswanathan was hearing a plea filed by an accused seeking regular bail in a case lodged for alleged offences under provisions of the NDPS Act in West Bengal.

The Bench directed the West Bengal government to consider whether the State proposes to file an application seeking cancellation of anticipatory bail granted to four accused in a case.

Should the NDPS Act be amended?

It issued notice to the State of West Bengal on the accused’s bail plea and posted it for hearing after four weeks. The petitioner’s counsel told the Bench that four of the six accused in the case were granted pre-arrest bail while one of them was on regular bail.

“In NDPS matter, anticipatory bail?” the Bench wondered. “In NDPS matter, anticipatory bail is unheard of,” it said. “We can issue notice (on the plea) and direct the State to file an application for cancellation of the anticipatory bail granted to the co-accused,” the Court observed.

“Grant of anticipatory bail in a NDPS matter is a very serious issue. We, therefore, direct the State to consider whether it proposes to file an application for cancellation of the anticipatory bail granted to the co-accused,” the top court said.

In the plea, the accused challenged the Calcutta High Court’s order of July this year dismissing his application seeking regular bail in the case lodged in October 2023. “The samples that were sent to Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) have tested positive indicating that the materials seized from the petitioner are contraband,” the High Court had said in its order.

“In view of commercial quantity of ‘ganja’ being involved and keeping in mind the restrictions in Section 37 of the NDPS Act, we are not inclined to grant bail to the petitioner at this stage,” it said.