Mandatory Section 42 compliance under the NDPS Act is essential; failure to record prior information can justify bail.

Where officers act on prior information under the NDPS Act, Section 42 requires that information to be recorded in writing and forwarded to the immediate superior officer. The Madras High Court noted that the officers had definite prior intelligence about the vehicle and persons involved, so Section 42 applied; because the information was not reduced to writing and not sent under Section 42(2), the Court treated the omission as a mandatory violation causing prejudice and held that it justified bail. The objection based on Section 50 was not treated as decisive in the vehicle-search context, and other objections were left for trial.

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Issues: Whether the petitioners were entitled to bail in view of the alleged non-compliance with the mandatory requirements of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, particularly the requirement to record information in writing and forward it to the superior officer.

Analysis: The detention mahazars and the intelligence material showed that the officers acted on definite prior information about the movement of the vehicle and the persons involved. On that footing, Section 42 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act applied. The Court found that the information was not taken down in writing and the copy was not sent to the immediate superior officer as required by Section 42(2). Relying on the binding principle that total non-compliance of this mandatory safeguard affects the prosecution case and causes prejudice, the Court held that this defect justified release on bail. The objection based on Section 50 was not accepted as decisive in the vehicle-search context, and the remaining objections were left to be raised at trial.

Conclusion: The petitioners were entitled to bail because of non-compliance with Section 42(2) of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act.

Ratio Decidendi: Where empowered officers proceed on prior information under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, failure to record that information in writing and forthwith send it to the immediate superior officer under Section 42(2) is a mandatory violation that materially prejudices the prosecution and can justify grant of bail.

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