The Supreme Court has granted bail to an appellant convicted under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985, noting that he has been in custody for over seven years and that there is no possibility of his appeal being heard by the High Court any time soon in the near future. A Bench of Justices Sanjay Kumar and K. Vinod Chandran allowed the appeal and set aside the order dated May 15, 2025 passed by the High Court of Judicature at Patna in Criminal Appeal which had denied suspension of sentence and consequential bail in connection with FIR registered with Police Station N.C.B. (Government Official), District Patna, Bihar, for offences punishable under Sections 20(b)(ii)(C), 23(c), 24, 27A and 29 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985.
The Court observed that although the appeal filed by the appellant is against his conviction under the provisions of the NDPS Act in relation to a commercial quantity of contraband, he would be entitled to relief at this stage pending consideration of his appeal in due course of time by the High Court. The Court accordingly directed that, subject to depositing the fine amount imposed by the Special Court and subject to such other appropriate terms and conditions as may be fixed by the Special Court, the appellant shall be released on bail upon suspension of sentence pending consideration of his appeal on merits.
The Court further directed that the appellant shall regularly appear or remain represented during the course of hearing of his appeal by the High Court and shall not take unnecessary adjournments. It clarified that it had not made any observations or comments on the merits of the pending appeal and that any observation in the order was only for the limited purpose of grant of bail.
Appearances:
For the Petitioner: Mr. Gaurav Agarwal, Sr. Adv. ; Mr. Anil Nag, AOR; Mr. Abhikalp Pratap Singh, AOR; Ms. Shubhangi Agarwal, Adv.; Ms. Kashish Jain, Adv.
For the Respondent: Mr. Samir Ali Khan, AOR; Mr. Pranjal Sharma, Adv.; Mr. Kashif Irshad Khan Faridi, Adv.; Mr. Anil Kaushik, A.S.G.; Mr. Pranjal Singh, Adv.; Mr. Astha Singh, Adv.; Mr. Diwakar Sharma, Adv.; Mr. Vishnu Shankar Jain, Adv.; Mr. Arvind Kumar Sharma, AOR
