Page No.# 1/4 GAHC010132472026 undefined THE GAUHATI HIGH COURT (HIGH COURT OF ASSAM, NAGALAND, MIZORAM AND ARUNACHAL PRADESH) Case No. : Bail Appln./1784/2026 SURJIT SINGH SON OF SARDOOL SINGH RESIDENT OF KUKRA, POST BANKEYGANJ, KUKRA P.O. KUKRA, P.S.- MAILANI DIST.- KHERI, UTTAR PRADESH-262801 ANOTHER ADDRESS GRANT NO.3, POST HINDUSTAN FARM DIST- KHERI, UTTAR PRADESH-262801 VERSUS UNION OF INDIA NARCOTICS CONTROL BUREAU REPRESENTED BY THE STANDING COUNSEL, NARCOTICS CONTROL BUREAU Advocate for the Petitioner : MR. N J DUTTA, MR. P K SAHARIA,MS K DAS Advocate for the Respondent : SC, NCB, BEFORE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE SANJEEV KUMAR SHARMA ORDER Date : 05 .08. 2026 Heard Mr. N.J. Dutta, learned counsel for the petitioner and Mr. R.K.D. Choudhury, learned Standing Counsel, NCB. 2. This is an application under Section 483 of BNSS, 2023, for granting regular bail to the accused/ petitioner, namely, Surjit Singh, who was arrested on 03.08.2026, in connection with NDPS Case No. 01/2025 (arising out of Page No.# 2/4 NCB Guwahati Crime No. 08/2024) registered Sections 20(b)(ii)(c) of the NDPS Act pending before the Court of the learned Addl. District & Sessions Judge, Rangia, Assam. 3. This is the second bail application filed on behalf of the present petitioner whose earlier bail application being BA 408 of 2026 was rejected by order dated 08.04.2026. 4. The facts as revealed by the FIR is that on 02.08.2024 at around 8.35 p.m. a truck bearing registration number PB06AU9134 was seen coming from Tezpur side and the driver of the truck parked near a roadside dhaba and restaurant Barpalaha, Mangaldoi Road, Kamrup there was only one person in the truck who was its driver, that is the present petitioner Surjit Singh, who upon being questioned gave his address and thereafter informing the petitioner about prior information regarding transportation of contraband received by the NCB, search was carried out on the said truck in the presence of witnesses and as revealed by the petitioner, a specially made cavity in the loading area just behind the truck was discovered in which packets of ganja had been concealed and the same was searched and 90 packets of ganja was recovered therefrom. After completion of investigation, the charge-sheet has been submitted on 29.01.2025 under Sections 20(b)(ii)(c), 28, 29, 35 and 54 of the NDPS Act and the case is at the stage of consideration of charge. 5. The learned counsel for the petitioner among his contentions has submitted that section 48 of the BNSS has been violated in the present case and also there is no signature of any witness in the memo of arrest and moreover the petitioner was produced beyond 24 hours of his arrest before the magistrate which itself vitiates his arrest. It is the further submission of learned counsel that as per the final complaint the personnel search of the petitioner was carried Page No.# 3/4 out without any notice under section 50 having been issued to him which itself vitiates the arrest. 6. Furthermore, it is submitted that since the date of his arrest on 02.08.2024, the petitioner has spent more than 2 years behind the bars and till date charges have not been framed although the final complaint/ charge sheet was submitted on 21.01.2025 due to non-appearance of the absconding accused. Therefore, the petitioner is also entitled to be granted bail as the right of the petitioner to speedy trial has been violated. 7. Per contra, Mr. RK Dev Choudhury learned standing counsel for the NCB submits that the previous order by which the earlier bail application of the petitioner was rejected itself deals with the contentions raised by learned counsel for the petitioner with regard to section 48 and sections 36 of the BNSS. Furthermore, with regard to the time of arrest, it is submitted that the petitioner is shown to have been arrested on 03.08.2024 after the search and seizure operation was completed and since the petitioner was admittedly produced on 04.08.2024, there has been no violation of the constitutional rights of the petitioner. 8. It has been stated at paragraph 6 of the final complaint/ charge sheet that the NCB team on 02.08.2024 at about 20.35 hours detected the vehicle in question coming from Tezpur side and the driver of the truck parked the truck near the roadside Dhaba and restaurant Barpalaha, Mangaldoi Road Mangaldoi Kamrup and as the truck matched the description received on prior information the driver of the truck i.e. the petitioner was approached by the NCB team and on being asked, the petitioner came down from the truck and the petitioner introduced himself as Surjit Singh and then at around 20.45 hours, the NCB team started search of the truck in the presence of the two independent Page No.# 4/4 witnesses and the intercepted person namely Surjit Singh. Therefore, the petitioner was in the effective custody of the NCB at least from 20.45 hours on 02.08. 2024. 9. Furthermore, as per the final complaint/ charge sheet, the petitioner was produced before the Magistrate only on 04.08.2024 that is more than 24 hours after the petitioner was effectively taken into custody. 10. Therefore, evidently the arrest of the petitioner has been rendered illegal in view of the decision of the Honorable Apex Court in Directorate of Enforcement –versus- Subhash Sharma (2025 INSC 141). 11. In view of the above it is not necessary to discuss the other contentions raised by learned counsel for the petitioner. Consequently the prayer for bail stands allowed. Petitioner shall be released on bail of Rs. 50,000/- with 2 sureties of the like amount to the satisfaction of the concerned Trial Court. It is further provided that the petitioner shall participate in the trial land shall cooperate with the investigation and shall not try to tamper with the evidence in any manner. 12. The petition stands disposed of accordingly. 13. Send back the Case Diary. JUDGE Comparing Assistant