Frank Vitus vs Narcotics Control Bureau & Ors.

Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 – Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 – Terms and conditions in a bail – A condition of furnishing certificate of the Embassy: Held: It is not necessary that in every case where bail is granted to an accused in an NDPS case who is a foreign national on the ground of long incarceration of more than 50% of the minimum sentence, the condition of obtaining a ‘certificate of assurance’ from the Embassy/High Commission should be incorporated – It will depend on the facts of each case – Even if such a condition is incorporated, on an application made by the accused, the concerned Embassy/High Commission declines or fails to issue the certificate within a reasonable time, say within a period of seven days, the Court always has the power to dispense with the said condition – Grant of such a certificate by the Embassy/High Commission is beyond the control of the accused to whom bail is granted – Therefore, when the Embassy/High Commission does not grant such a certificate within a reasonable time, as explained above, the accused, who is otherwise held entitled to bail, cannot be denied bail on the ground that such a condition, which is impossible for the accused to comply with, has not been complied with – Hence, the Court will have to delete the condition – Instead of the condition of obtaining such a certificate, the condition of surrendering the passport and regularly reporting to the local police station/Trial Court can always be imposed, depending upon the facts of each case – Accordingly, in the instant case, the said condition of furnishing certificate of the Embassy is ordered to be deleted. [Paras 11.1, 12]

Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 – s.37 and s.52 – Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 – s.437(3) – Application of CrPC to the arrests made under NDPS: Held: Under Section 37 of the NDPS Act, the Court’s power to grant bail is constrained by Sub-section 1(b)(ii) – However, once a case is made out for a grant of bail in accordance with Section 37, the conditions of bail will have to be in terms of Section 437(3) of the CrPC – The reason is that because of Section 52 of the NDPS Act, the provisions of the CrPC apply to the arrests made under the NDPS Act insofar as they are not inconsistent with the NDPS Act. [Para 4.1]

Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 – s.437(3) – Meaning of the words “interest of justice”:

Held: A broader meaning cannot be assigned to the words “interest of justice” in Section 437(3) of CrPC – By borrowing the language used by the Supreme Court in its earlier decisions, it is clear that the bail conditions cannot be fanciful, arbitrary or freakish – The object of imposing conditions of bail is to ensure that the accused does not interfere or obstruct the investigation in any manner, remains available for the investigation, does not tamper with or destroy evidence, does not commit any offence, remains regularly present before the Trial Court, and does not create obstacles in the expeditious conclusion of the trial – The conditions incorporated in the order granting bail must be within the four corners of Section 437(3) – The bail conditions must be consistent with the object of imposing conditions – While imposing bail conditions, the Constitutional rights of an accused, who is ordered to be released on bail, can be curtailed only to the minimum extent required – Even an accused convicted by a competent Court and undergoing a sentence in prison is not deprived of all his rights guaranteed by Article 21 of the Constitution. [Para 7]