Article 21 and NDPS bail: prolonged incarceration and hostile witnesses justified conditional release despite Section 37 restriction.

In an NDPS prosecution, hostile panch witnesses and prolonged custody of over two years justified bail despite Section 37(1)(b). The Court declined to treat the Investigating Officer as a substitute panch witness to continue denying liberty, and emphasised that failure to conclude the trial within a reasonable time engages Article 21 protection. Where continued incarceration becomes excessive and the trial remains incomplete, conditional liberty may prevail over the statutory embargo. Bail was therefore held justified, with release to be on terms fixed by the trial court.

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Issues: Whether bail could be granted to an accused in custody for more than two years in an NDPS prosecution after the panch witnesses turned hostile, notwithstanding the statutory restriction under Section 37(1)(b) of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985.

Analysis: The panch witnesses examined in the trial did not support the prosecution case. The Court declined to treat the Investigating Officer as a panch witness for the purpose of sustaining continued denial of bail. It held that prolonged incarceration and failure to conclude the trial within a reasonable time implicate the protection of personal liberty under Article 21 of the Constitution of India. In such circumstances, conditional liberty may override the statutory embargo under Section 37(1)(b) of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985.

Conclusion: Bail was held to be justified and the petitioner was entitled to be enlarged on bail on terms to be fixed by the trial court.

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