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Issues: (i) Whether, under the amended NDPS regime, offences committed after the amendment but before constitution of the Special Court were triable by the Court of Session and when a Special Court can be said to be constituted; (ii) whether undertrials in NDPS cases whose trials had been unduly delayed were entitled to release on bail by reason of Article 21 despite the restrictive bail provision in the Act.
Issue (i): Whether, under the amended NDPS regime, offences committed after the amendment but before constitution of the Special Court were triable by the Court of Session and when a Special Court can be said to be constituted.
Analysis: The amended scheme created Special Courts for speedy trial, vested exclusive jurisdiction in those courts for offences under the Act, and provided a transitional arrangement whereby, until a Special Court is constituted, offences committed after commencement of the amendment are to be tried by the Court of Session. The Court held that constitution of a Special Court begins with the notification under Section 36(1) and becomes complete only when a qualified Sessions Judge or Additional Sessions Judge is appointed to man it under Section 36(2) and (3). During the transitional period, the Court of Session alone has jurisdiction, and where it has already taken cognizance, the matter is not to be transferred after the Special Court is later constituted.
Conclusion: Offences committed after the amendment but before complete constitution of the Special Court were triable by the Court of Session, and the Special Court was constituted only when both notification and appointment of the Judge were completed.
Issue (ii): Whether undertrials in NDPS cases whose trials had been unduly delayed were entitled to release on bail by reason of Article 21 despite the restrictive bail provision in the Act.
Analysis: The Court balanced the stringent bail regime under Section 37 with the constitutional guarantee of personal liberty and speedy trial under Articles 14 and 21. It held that prolonged incarceration without trial, especially after substantial custody corresponding to a large part of the maximum punishment, would be unfair and unreasonable. To remedy the delay, the Court framed one-time directions granting bail in specified categories of long-pending undertrials, excluding persons charged under the gravest provisions, and imposed safeguards such as passport deposit, reporting requirements, and cancellation power.
Conclusion: Long-pending undertrials in specified NDPS offences were entitled to release on bail on the conditions laid down, subject to the exclusions and safeguards stated in the order.
Final Conclusion: The petition was substantially accepted by issuing binding bail directions for delayed NDPS trials and by clarifying the transitional jurisdiction of Courts of Session and Special Courts under the amended Act.
Ratio Decidendi: In the amended NDPS scheme, Special Court jurisdiction becomes operative only upon complete constitution of the court, while during the transitional period the Court of Session retains jurisdiction; further, prolonged pre-trial incarceration may justify judicially framed bail relief to vindicate the right to speedy trial under Article 21 notwithstanding stringent statutory bail restrictions.
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