High Court’s ‘Unprecedented’ Anticipatory Bail in NDPS Case Draws Supreme Court’s Stern Critique
Court Questions Legality of Anticipatory Bail in NDPS Case, Orders West Bengal to Reconsider
NEW DELHI, Sept 19: The Supreme Court of India has described the granting of anticipatory bail in cases under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act as a “very serious” and “unheard of” matter. This pronouncement came on Thursday as a bench led by Justice B. R. Gavai, and including Justices Aravind Kumar and K. V. Viswanathan, reviewed a plea from an accused seeking regular bail in an NDPS case from West Bengal.
The bench has instructed the West Bengal Government to evaluate if it should file a petition to cancel the anticipatory bail granted to four of the six accused in the case. The court has also issued a notice to the state of West Bengal regarding the bail plea and scheduled the next hearing for four weeks from now.
During the proceedings, the petitioner’s lawyer informed the bench that, in this particular case, four out of six accused had been granted anticipatory bail, while one was on regular bail. The bench expressed surprise at this, questioning the appropriateness of anticipatory bail in an NDPS case.
“This is unprecedented,” Justice Gavai remarked. “Anticipatory bail in an NDPS case is extremely rare and concerning.” The court emphasized the gravity of the situation, directing the state to consider whether it will pursue an application for the cancellation of the anticipatory bail granted to the co-accused.
The plea challenges a July ruling by the Calcutta High Court, which had denied regular bail to the petitioner. The High Court had noted that the forensic analysis of the seized materials tested positive for contraband, and due to the commercial quantity of ‘ganja’ involved and the stringent restrictions under section 37 of the NDPS Act, bail was not warranted at this stage.
