Supreme Court says grant of anticipatory bail in NDPS case is ‘very serious’ and ‘unprecedented’ issue

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

The court directed the West Bengal government to examine whether the state is considering filing an application seeking cancellation of anticipatory bail granted to four accused in the case.

It issued notice to the State of West Bengal on the accused’s bail application and posted it for hearing after four weeks.

The applicant’s counsel told the court that four of the six accused in the case had been granted pre-arrest bail, while one of them was on ordinary bail.

“In an NDPS case, anticipatory bail?” the court asked. “In an NDPS case, anticipatory bail is unheard of,” it said.

“We may issue an opinion (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 an NDPS case is a very serious matter. We, therefore, direct the State to consider whether it is contemplating filing an application for cancellation of the anticipatory bail granted to the co-accused,” the Supreme Court said.

In his plea, the accused challenged the Calcutta High Court’s order of July this year rejecting his regular bail application in the case filed in October 2023.

“The samples which were sent to the FSL have tested positive, indicating that the materials seized from the petitioner are contraband,” the High Court said in its order.

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