28.07.2026 Item No.6 Court No.9 CHC (Allowed) Calcutta High Court In the Circuit Bench at Jalpaiguri Appellate Side C.R.M.(NDPS) 210 of 2026 In Re:- An application for bail under Section 483 of Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023; in connection with CR (NDPS) Case No.20/2023 arising out of Pradhannagar Police Station Case No.165 of 2023 dated 10.03.2023, under Sections 21(c)/22(c)/27A of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985. And In the matter of : Basant Chetri ...… petitioner Mr. Hillol Saha Podder, Advocate …for the petitioner Mr. Avrojyoti Das, Ld. A.P.P. Mr. Uday Bhattacharjee, Advocate Mr. Nigam Mittal, Advocate …for the State 1. Bail prayer of the petitioner is taken up for consideration. 2. It is submitted by the learned advocate for the petitioner that the petitioner has been in custody for more than 3 years 6 months. Chargesheet has already been submitted and charges stood framed. However, no witness has turned up till date. Learned advocate for the petitioner also submitted that the co-accused was granted bail by an order passed on September 13, 2023 in CRM (NDPS) 604 of 2023. The case of the petitioner stands on similar footing to that of the accused Saroj Sahani @ Sanoj who was granted bail by such order. On the point of long incarceration, learned advocate for the petitioner placed 2 reliance upon 2023 SCC OnLine SC 1109 (Rabi Prakash vs. State of Odisha) and order passed on May 13, 2024 in CRM (NDPS) 200 of 2024 (In the matter of: Kamona Sarkar). He prays for bail. 3. Learned advocate for the State opposes the prayer for bail. He refers to the various materials in the Case Diary and submits that the date of sending the materials to the FSL was wrongly recorded in the order dated September 13, 2023 in CRM (NDPS) 604 of 2023. It was actually sent on March 20, 2023. 4. Learned advocate for the State also submits that the State proposes to file an application for cancellation of bail granted by such order on the ground that the order was obtained by suppression of material facts. 5. It transpires from the materials on record that 22 bottles of ‘ONEREEX’ Codeine Phosphate & Chlorpheniramine Maleate Syrup were recovered from the possession of the petitioner on March 10, 2023. Samples were collected and after making due inventory by learned Magistrate, the seized articles were sent for FSL for chemical examination on March 20, 2023. The petitioner was apprehended on March 10, 2023. Since then he has been in custody. 6. In Rabi Prakash (supra) it was observed by the Hon’ble Supreme Court that- “4. As regard to the twin conditions contained in Section 37 of the NDPS Act, learned counsel for the respondent – State has been duly heard. 3 Thus, the 1st condition stands complied with. So far as the 2nd condition re: formation of opinion as to whether there are reasonable grounds to believe that the petitioner is not guilty, the same may not be formed at this stage when he has already spent more than three and a half years in custody. The prolonged incarceration, generally militates against the most precious fundamental right guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution and in such a situation, the conditional liberty must override the statutory embargo created under Section 37(1)(b)(ii) of the NDPS Act.” 7. Similarly, in the case of Kamona Sarkar (supra) the petitioner therein was granted bail on the ground that although the petitioner had been in custody for more than a year, no witness yet been examined. 8. In the case at hand, the petitioner has been in custody since March 10, 2023. Chargesheet has already been submitted and charges stood framed. However, no witness has been examined on behalf of the prosecution till date. Moreover, the co-accused who was apprehended with 28 bottles of ‘ONEREEX’ Codeine Phosphate & Chlorpheniramine Maleate Syrup was granted bail by this Court on September 13, 2023 vide order passed in CRM (NDPS) 604 of 2023. 9. Considering the aforesaid facts and circumstances as well as the long incarceration suffered by the petitioner and also taking into consideration that no witness has been 4 examined on behalf of the prosecution, applying the principles laid down in Rabi Prakash (supra) I am inclined to release the petitioner on bail. 10. Consequently, prayer for bail of the petitioner is allowed. 11. Accordingly, I direct that the petitioner shall be released on bail upon furnishing a bond of Rs. 10,000/- (Rupees Ten Thousand only), with two sureties of like amount each, one of whom must be local, to the satisfaction of the learned Judge, Special Court (under NDPS Act, 1985), Siliguri, subject to condition that the petitioner shall appear before the trial court on every date of hearing until further orders and shall not intimidate witnesses or tamper with evidence in any manner whatsoever. 12. In the event, petitioner fails to appear before the trial court without any justifiable cause, the trial court shall be at liberty to cancel the bail in accordance with law without further reference to this Court. 13. CRM(NDPS) 210 of 2026 is disposed of. (Md. Shabbar Rashidi, J.)