NDPS bail restrictions apply to anticipatory bail where statutory conditions under Section 37 are not satisfied.

Section 37(1)(b) of the NDPS Act is described as a statutory embargo on bail, and the same restriction is stated to apply to anticipatory bail under Section 438 CrPC. The note says that where offences are punishable with imprisonment of five years or more, pre-arrest bail cannot be granted unless the court is satisfied that there are reasonable grounds to believe the accused is not guilty and will not commit any offence while on bail. It further emphasises that custodial interrogation may be necessary in narcotics investigations and that investigation should not be reduced to a ritual. On the stated facts, those conditions were not met, so anticipatory bail was rejected.

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Issues: Whether anticipatory bail could be granted in a prosecution under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 in view of the restrictions under Section 37(1)(b), and whether the circumstances justified protection from arrest under Section 438 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973.

Analysis: The petitioner was suspected of supplying acetic anhydride, a controlled substance, in connection with an investigation under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985. The materials included a voluntary statement implicating the petitioner, subsequent search proceedings, and the need for further enquiry under Section 67 of the Act. The Court applied the settled principles governing anticipatory bail and held that pre-arrest bail cannot be granted as a matter of course where custodial interrogation may be necessary and where the investigation should not be reduced to a ritual. The Court further held that Section 37(1)(b) of the Act imposes a statutory embargo on bail for offences punishable with imprisonment of five years or more, and that these restrictions apply equally to anticipatory bail. Since the Public Prosecutor opposed the application and the Court was not satisfied that there were reasonable grounds for believing that the petitioner was not guilty or would not commit any offence while on bail, the statutory conditions for grant of bail were not met.

Conclusion: Anticipatory bail was not warranted, and the application was rejected.

Ratio Decidendi: In a case involving offences punishable with imprisonment of five years or more under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985, anticipatory bail cannot be granted unless the conditions in Section 37(1)(b) are satisfied, and the statutory restrictions apply to pre-arrest bail as well as regular bail.

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