'Unheard Of' : Supreme Court Surprised By Grant Of Anticipatory Bail In NDPS Matter

The Supreme Court today expressed surprise at the grant of anticipatory bail in a case under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act,1985 and asked the State of West Bengal to consider filing applications seeking the cancellation of pre-arrest bail granted to the accused..

The bench of Justices B.R. Gavai, Aravind Kumar and K.V. Viswanathan directed: "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.”

Advocate Abhijit Sengupta sought bail for the accused based on parity with the co-accused who have got bail. He apprised the bench that apart from the 4 accused persons who have been granted anticipatory bail, 1 other accused has been granted regular bail by the Calcutta High Court. He also informed the Court that the accused person has been in custody for approximately 11 months now.

On being told that anticipatory bail was granted in NDPS matter, Justice Gavai remarked: “Anticipatory bail in NDPS matter? …Who are the other persons who have been granted anticipatory bail? In the NDPS matter, the grant of anticipatory bail is unheard of."

In this case, the narcotics substances were allegedly found in the possession of the accused person in the scooty and he had named the other co-accused in his deposition, who were granted anticipatory bail.

Case Details: Anarul Sk v. The State of West Bengal SLP(Crl) No. 12621/2024

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