The Supreme Court objected to the Madras High Court’s order granting anticipatory bail to an accused without ensuring prima facie satisfaction, as required by Section 37 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act (NDPS Act). The recent ruling [State Rep By Inspector of Police vs B Ramu] emphasizes caution in cases involving the recovery of commercial quantities of narcotic substances, especially when considering parole for individuals with prior criminal records.
A bench comprising Justices BR Gavai and Sandeep Mehta expressed dissent towards the Madras High Court’s decision, which released the defendant on anticipatory bail with the condition of remitting ₹30,000 to the Tamil Nadu Advocate Clerk Association. The apex court deemed this condition contradictory to bail jurisprudence and revoked the granted bail.
The Supreme Court was addressing a petition filed by the State of Tamil Nadu challenging a January 2022 High Court order granting anticipatory bail to the accused, issued by single-judge Justice TV Thamilsevli.
The defendant was apprehended with 233 kilograms of ganja, well beyond the illegal quantity limit of 20 kg. The public prosecutor opposed the defendant’s parole application citing his involvement in two similar cases previously.
Section 37 of the NDPS Act mandates the court to record a satisfaction that the accused is likely not guilty of the alleged offence and is unlikely to commit any offence while on bail. The bench emphasized caution in granting parole to individuals with previous criminal records, especially when significant amounts of narcotic substances are involved.
The Supreme Court objected to the lenient grant of pre-arrest parole, considering the filed chargesheet. Consequently, the State’s appeal was upheld, and the defendant was ordered to surrender within ten days.
The Tamil Nadu government was represented by Senior Additional Advocate General V Krishnamurthy, D Kumanan, Deepa, Sheikh F Kalia, and Veshal Tyagi. The accused was represented by SB Kamalanathan, G Sivabalamurugan, Selvaraj Mahendran, C Adhikesavan, Sumit Singh Rawat, PV Harikrishnan, Karuppaiah Meyyappan, Raghunatha Sethupathy B, Kanika Kalaiyarasan, and Abhishek Kalaiyarasan.
