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State of Kerala v. Rajesh

Criminal Appeal · 2020 INSC 88Decided 24 Jan 2020
Criminal Appeal Nos. 154-157 of 2020
Justice Indu Malhotra · Justice Ajay Rastogi

Background

Two accused persons were implicated in separate hashish-oil trafficking cases involving commercial quantities of the drug in Kerala, and a Single Judge of the Kerala High Court granted them post-arrest bail without discussing the mandatory conditions under Section 37 of the NDPS Act, which requires courts to be satisfied there are reasonable grounds to believe the accused is not guilty before granting bail in such cases. The State's subsequent application to recall the bail orders was also rejected by the High Court on the ground that it could not reconsider its own order under Section 482 CrPC. The State then appealed to the Supreme Court against both the bail grant and the refusal to recall it.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court held that Section 37 of the NDPS Act imposes a mandatory twin-condition test for bail in commercial-quantity drug cases, and that the High Court's bail order had failed to record the required finding that there were reasonable grounds to believe the accused were not guilty: a precondition the High Court itself appeared to concede was not properly applied. Since the statutory mandate was not followed, the Court held the bail orders could not stand. The appeals were allowed, the High Court's bail orders were set aside, the accused's bail bonds were cancelled with directions that they be taken back into custody, and the trial court was directed to expedite the trial.

Lesson Learnt

In serious drug offences involving commercial quantities, courts must expressly apply the strict NDPS Act bail test before releasing an accused, and a bail order that skips this mandatory finding can be overturned even after release.

Official source (sci.gov.in)View Judgment (PDF)

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