Page No.# 1/4 GAHC010038322026 2026:GAU-AS:4142 THE GAUHATI HIGH COURT (HIGH COURT OF ASSAM, NAGALAND, MIZORAM AND ARUNACHAL PRADESH) Case No. : Bail Appln./558/2026 MINAL HAQUE S/O LATE MOKSED ALI R/O - BOGULAMARI, P.S - DHUBRI, DIST - DHUBRI ASSAM, PIN- 783335 VERSUS THE STATE OF ASSAM REPRESENTED BY THE PUBLIC PROSECUTOR, ASSAM Advocate for the Petitioner : MR. A Z AHMED, MR. A KHALEK Advocate for the Respondent : PP, ASSAM, BEFORE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE SANJEEV KUMAR SHARMA ORDER Date : 23/03/2026 1. Heard Mr. A.Z. Ahmed, learned counsel for the accused applicant and Mr. P.S. Lahkar, learned APP, Assam. 2. This is an application under section 483 of BNSS, 2023 praying for grant of bail to the accused applicant in connection with Dhubri PS Case No. 320/2025, registered under Section 22(c) of NDPS Act. Page No.# 2/4 3. The prosecution case in brief is that on 13.07.2025 complainant SI(UB) Utpal Ray, I/C Bazar TOP, Dhubri lodged a written FIR before the Officer-in-charge of, Dhubri Police station alleging inter-alia that he received secret information that a large quantity of Narcotic Drugs has been kept concealed at the house of the present accused petitioner situated at Bogulamari under PS Dhubri for illegal business purposes and accordingly complainant informed the matter to O/C, Dhubri PS and Addl.SP(crime) over phone and a GDE was made at Bazar TOP vide Bazar TOP GDE No.180 dated 13/07/2025. Thereafter the complainant along with police party proceeded to Bogulamari at 12.15 AM from Bazar TOP along with all necessary kits such as DD kit, Envelop, cartoon Box, Laha Weight machine etc. and reached destination at 12.30 AM. On reaching at Bogulamari source identified the house of the present accused petitioner and they proceeded to the house of the present petitioner and managed to apprehend the present petitioner and thereafter the house of the present petitioner was searched in presence of independent witnesses and recovered the following items:- (1) Total 38 No's of Codein Phosphate & Triprolidine HCI Syrup (Berrycof Syrup) Batch No.NLF0190, Mfg Date-06/25, Expiry date-05/27.Total weight-5.233 Kg, (2) One Blue coloured Signature Cloth bag. Accordingly the same was received and registered vide Dhubri P.S. case No.320/2025 under section 22(c) NDPS Act. 4. The petitioner on being arrested on 13.07.2025, was forwarded in the Court of Chief Judicial Magistrate, Dhubri on 14.07.2025 and accordingly he was sent to Jail Hajot and since then he is in Jail Hajot. 5. Upon completion of investigation, charge sheet has been submitted under Page No.# 3/4 section 22C/29 of the NDPS Act and accordingly, Special Case No. 206/2026 was registered and trial commenced. 6. It is submitted on behalf of the petitioner that he is innocent and not involved with the alleged offence. The learned counsel for the petitioner has drawn the attention of the Court to the notice under section 48 BNSS that was issued to the wife of the accused Jalmina Khatun, which has been annexed to the instant Bail Application as Annexure-4 (series). A bare perusal of the aforesaid notice would show that no ground of arrest whatsoever has been mentioned in the said notice. 7. The learned APP, Assam, on perusal of the scanned copy of the TCR, fairly submits that there is no material to show that there has been substantial compliance with section 48 BNSS or that no prejudice was caused to the petitioner, inasmuch as, the records reveals that the petitioner was unrepresented by counsel at the time of his production and remand by the learned Trial Court. 8. In view of the above, the present appears to be a case of total non- compliance with the provisions of section 48 BNSS, which is impermissible and makes the arrest illegal in view of the decision of the Hon’ble Supreme Court in the case of Vihaan Kumar Vs. State of Haryana & Anr. reported in (2025) SCC OnLine SC 269. 9. In such view of the matter, I am inclined to hold that the application deserves to succeed only on the ground that the mandate of furnishing the grounds of arrest to the relatives/friends/nominated person of the petitioner has not been complied with. Therefore, I am of the view that a case for grant of bail has been made out notwithstanding the provisions of Section 37 of the NDPS Act. 10. Accordingly, the prayer for bail is allowed. 11. It is directed that the petitioner, named above, shall be released on bail of Page No.# 4/4 Rs.1,00,000/- (Rupees One Lakh) with two local sureties of like amount, at least one of them being a regular Government servant, to the satisfaction of learned Additional Sessions Judge-cum-Special Judge, Dhubri, in connection with the aforesaid case. 12. It is further provided that the liberty is granted to the respondent to take recourse to law, to arrest the petitioner if a case is made out, as explained in Mihir Rajesh Shah Rajesh Shah Vs. The State of Maharashtra & Anr. reported in (2025) INSC 1288 as follows:- “55. It goes without saying that if the above said schedule for supplying the grounds of arrest in writing is not adhered to, the arrest will be rendered illegal entitling the release of the arrestee. On such release, an application for remand or custody, if required, will be moved along with the reasons and necessity for the same, after the supply of the grounds of arrest in writing setting forth the explanation for non-supply thereof within the above stipulated schedule. On receipt of such an application, the magistrate shall decide the same expeditiously and preferably within a week of submission thereof by adhering to the principles of natural justice.” 13. The bail application stands disposed of JUDGE Comparing Assistant