On Thursday, the Supreme Court raised concerns over the grant of anticipatory bail in cases registered under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, calling it a “very serious” issue and “unheard of”.
Apex Court Bench led by Justice B.R. Gavai, along with Justice Aravind Kumar and Justice K.V. Viswanathan, was hearing a petition from an accused seeking regular bail in an NDPS case lodged in West Bengal.
The Bench directed the West Bengal government to consider whether it intends to file an application for the cancellation of anticipatory bail granted to four co-accused. The court noted “Grant of anticipatory bail in an NDPS matter is a very serious issue. We therefore direct the State to consider if it proposes to apply for the cancellation of Anticipatory Bail granted to the accused”.
The court issued notice to the state and scheduled the matter for further hearing in four weeks. The petitioner’s counsel informed the bench that four out of six accused had been granted pre-arrest bail, with one of them currently on regular bail.
“In an NDPS matter, anticipatory bail is unheard of,” the bench remarked, expressing its concern. The court then directed the state to explore the possibility of filing an application to cancel the anticipatory bail.
The petition also challenged a Calcutta High Court order from July that dismissed the accused’s plea for regular bail. The High Court had noted that the seized contraband had tested positive and involved a commercial quantity of ‘ganja’, invoking the restrictions under Section 37 of the NDPS Act, which prohibits granting bail in such cases.