Page No.# 1/4 GAHC010160372026 2026:GAU-AS:12923 THE GAUHATI HIGH COURT (HIGH COURT OF ASSAM, NAGALAND, MIZORAM AND ARUNACHAL PRADESH) Case No. : Bail Appln./2164/2026 PAVAN KUMAR SINGH ALIAS PAVAN SINGH ALIAS PAWAN KUMAR MAHATO S/O. LATE PRABHU SINGH,R/O. VILLAGER SHERPUR,P.O. GHEGHTA, P.S. MUFASSIL, DISTRICT CHAPRA, BIHAR,PIN CODE 841302 VERSUS THE UNION OF INDIA REPRESENTED BY THE S.C., NCB Advocate for the Petitioner : MR. S MUNIR, MR. T HUSSAIN Advocate for the Respondent : SC, NCB, BEFORE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE ANJAN MONI KALITA ORDER Date : 07.09.2026 Heard Mr. S. Munir, learned counsel appearing for the accused-applicant. Also heard Mr. R.K.D. Choudhury, learned Senior Counsel-cum-DSGI, representing Union of India. 2. This is an application under Section 483 of BNSS, 2023 seeking for granting Page No.# 2/4 bail to the accused-applicant in connection with NDPS Case No. 73/2022, registered under Sections 20(b)(ii)(C)/28/29 of the NDPS Act, corresponding to NCB Crime No. 28/2021. 3. The NCB authority has filed a complaint, inter-alia, alleging that on receipt of a secret information between 19:00 hours and 23:00 hours, two persons, namely Pawan Kumar Singh and Nunu Babu Mahato who were coming in a container truck bearing Registration No. NL-01AD-3773 from Meghalaya side towards Jalukbari, the NCB team along with independent witnesses intercepted the truck. On being questioned, both Pawan Kumar Singh and Nunu Babu Mahato admitted of trafficking Ganja in their container truck bearing the aforesaid number. After due search, 29 packets of Ganja weighing at 426.910 kg of Ganja were recovered. 4. On receipt of the complaint, NCB Crime No. 28/2021, under Sections 20(b) (ii)(C)/28/29 of NDPS Act was registered. 5. It is stated that the accused applicant along with other co-accused were arrested on the same very date, i.e., 06.10.2021 and produced them before the Court of learned Chief Judicial Magistrate, Kamrup (M) on 08.10.2021 and the accused applicant is behind the bars since then. The trial in the instant case has proceeded, thereafter, till date, out of 8 named PWs only 3 witnesses have been examined and out of those 3 witnesses, 2 witnesses have been cross-examined but, the PW-3 is yet to be cross-examined. 6. The learned counsel for the accused applicant submits that the accused applicant has been behind the bars for the last 1797 days and the progress of the trial is also very slow as only 3 PWs have been examined till date. He further submits that the co-accused in the instant case, namely Nunu Babu Mahato has approached this court by filing a bail application and his bail application was considered on 28.01.2026 by a coordinate bench of this court and he has been Page No.# 3/4 granted bail on the ground of long incarceration. He submits that taking into account the aforesaid and to bring in parity in the matter, the present accused applicant should be also granted bail. He further submits that out of 5 arrested persons in connection with the instant case, 3 have already been granted bail. 7. Mr. R.K.D. Choudhury, learned Senior Counsel has opposed the bail application stating that the trial is going on in a reasonable speed and is expected to be completed soon. Therefore, at this stage, the accused applicant who has been alleged in an offence under the NDPS Act, should not be granted bail at this stage. 8. The TCR in the instant case has been called for and the same has been received and this court has gone through the same. 9. It is seen that a complaint under Section 36A of the NDPS Act, 1985 was filed on 31.03.2022 and the first PW, i.e., PW No. 1, was examined only on 26.04.2024. Thereafter, PW-2 was examined on 19.09.2024, and PW-3 was examined on 17.06.2025. After that, no PWs have been examined before the trial court. From the above, it is seen that the trial is not going in a very satisfactory speed. 10. Taking into account that the accused-applicant has been inside the jail for 1,797 days, and the co-accused who had also been arrested on the same day as the present accused-applicant, has already been granted bail on the ground of long incarceration, this Court is of the considered opinion that the present accused- applicant should also be granted bail on the same ground. 11. Needless to mention that the Hon'ble Supreme Court, in the case of Rabi Prakash v. State of Odisha, reported in 2023 SCC OnLine SC 1109, has observed that prolonged incarceration generally militates against the most precious fundamental right under Article 21 of the Constitution of India, and that in such a situation, conditional liberty must override the statutory embargo created under Section 37(1)(b)(ii) of the NDPS Act. Page No.# 4/4 12. Therefore, it is directed that the accused-applicant shall be released immediately on bail on furnishing of a bail bond of Rs. 50,000/- with a local surety of like nature to the satisfaction of the Special Judge, NDPS, Kamrup (Metro), Guwahati, subject to the following conditions: - 1. That the accused-applicant shall appear before the Trial Court regularly, as and when required. 2. That the accused-applicant shall not directly or indirectly make any inducement, threat, or promise to any person acquainted with the facts of the case so as to dissuade them from disclosing such facts to the Court or police. 3. The accused-applicant shall not try to tamper with the trial in whatsoever manner. 13. In terms of the aforesaid direction, the instant bail application is disposed of as allowed. 14. Trial court records to be sent back immediately. JUDGE Comparing Assistant