Statutory bail right under NDPS cannot be defeated by late placement of the charge-sheet before court.

In an NDPS prosecution, the High Court addressed whether an accused gained an enforceable right to bail when the charge-sheet was not placed before the court within the statutory period. The court treated the prosecution's failure to file the charge-sheet before the relevant court in time as a procedural lapse and held that a later despatch date could not defeat the accrued right to release. It further noted that the seriousness of NDPS allegations did not override that right on the facts presented, and the bail application was allowed.

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Issues: Whether the accused was entitled to bail on the ground that the charge-sheet was not placed before the court within the statutory period, and whether the bar under the NDPS Act could defeat such entitlement.

Analysis: The application was for bail under Section 439 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 in an NDPS prosecution. The Court found that the accused had been in custody since 07.05.2024, the statutory period expired on 02.11.2024, and although the charge-sheet had been despatched earlier, it was not placed before the court within time. The record showed that on the relevant dates no charge-sheet was before the court dealing with the bail matter, and the later delay in placing it could not be used to curtail the accused's accrued right. The Court treated the lapse as a technical and procedural failure on the part of the prosecution machinery and held that the accused's right to be released on bail could not be denied on that account, notwithstanding the seriousness of the NDPS allegations.

Conclusion: The accused was held entitled to bail and the application was allowed.

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