Supreme Court grants leave in 60.79 Kg methamphetamine bail case

The core issue is whether the right to speedy trial under Article 21 and Section 36 of the BNSS overrides the stringent bail conditions under Section 37 of the NDPS Act, and whether the delay in formal arrest violated Article 22 of the Constitution.

Who it concerns: Appellants: Sri Sujit Das, Sri Suman Das, and Sri Rupak Sarkar. Respondent: Union of India. Bench: Justice Ujjal Bhuyan.

What the court decided

• The Court directed the Investigating Officer to file a specific affidavit regarding the timeline of arrest and detention to address potential violations of Article 22(2).
• The Investigating Officer filed a compliance affidavit explaining that the delay between interception (29.09.2025) and formal arrest (30.09.2025) was required to complete statutory formalities such as search, seizure, weighing, and interrogation.
• The Court recorded the averments in the compliance affidavit in detail, noting that the total recovery was 60.79 Kg, which is significantly above the commercial quantity.

Also in the document

• The judgment is marked as 'REPORTABLE'.
• The Court noted that the total quantity of methamphetamine recovered (60.79 Kg) is one thousand times more than the prescribed commercial quantity of 50 grams.
• The Court observed that an important issue regarding the timing of arrest versus interception had not been argued before the High Court.
• The text provided is truncated and does not contain the final order or judgment on the merits of the bail application.