Allahabad High Court
ANWARversusSTATE OF U.P.
- Decided
- Bench
- AVNISH SAXENA
Holding
Bail is granted to the accused under Section 20 of the NDPS Act.
Summary
The accused, Anwar, was arrested on 28 January 2025 for alleged possession of 1,200 tablets of alprazolam under Section 20 of the NDPS Act, with the recovery made by police officers on petrol duty and without any independent witness. He has eight pending criminal cases, seven of which he is already out on bail, and one under the Gangster Act for which bail has not yet been sought. The applicant contended that the police had falsely implicated him and that mandatory procedural requirements of the NDPS Act were not complied with, arguing that the trial was at a nascent stage. The State opposed bail but did not dispute the factual matrix presented. The Court, noting the absence of an independent witness and the early stage of the trial, granted bail without addressing the merits of the case, directing the applicant to furnish a personal bond and two sureties, and citing Supreme Court precedents on bail policy. The order emphasized the applicant’s duty to cooperate for a speedy disposal of the case.
Issues considered
- Whether bail should be granted in an NDPS case where the arrest and seizure were conducted without an independent witness.
- Whether non‑compliance with mandatory procedural provisions of the NDPS Act warrants bail.
- Whether the accused’s prior criminal history, including pending cases, precludes bail.
Legislation cited
Subjects
- bail
- NDPS Act
- Section 20
- procedural lapse
- independent witness
- criminal history
- Supreme Court precedent
Judgment
HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT ALLAHABAD
CRIMINAL MISC. BAIL APPLICATION No. - 32192 of 2025
Anwar
.....Applicant(s)
Versus
State of U.P.
.....Opposite
Party(s)
Counsel for Applicant(s) : Achyuta Nand Pandey, Adarsh
Srivastava, Anand Prakash Pandey,
Reena Pal, Vijay Pal
Counsel for Opposite Party(s) : G.A.
Court No. - 69
HON'BLE AVNISH SAXENA, J.
1. Learned A.G.A. has filed counter affidavit. The same is taken on
record.
1A. Sri Vijay Pal, learned counsel for the applicant hands up the rejoinder
affidavit. The same is taken on record.
1B. Heard Sri Pal, learned counsel for the accused-applicant and learned
A.G.A. for the State.
2. The present bail application has been moved by the accused-applicant
Anwar to enlarge him on bail in Case Crime No. 78 of 2025, under
Sections 20 of NDPS Act, P.S.- Khurja Nagar, District- Bulandshahr,
during the pendency of trial.
3. It is contended by learned counsel for the accused-applicant that the
police persons had falsely implicated the accused-applicant in F.I.R. dated
28.01.2025, wherein 1200 tablets of alprazolam has been recovered from
the possession of accused-applicant while the police was on petrol duty.
The arrest and recovery has been made in the absence of independent
witness. The mandatory provisions of NDPS Act has not been complied
with. The applicant has 8 cases criminal history, in seven cases, he is on
bail and in one case, the bail application has not been moved, which is of
Gangster Act and invoked after the present case. The charge sheet is
submitted. The trial is still at the nascent stage. The applicant is in jail
BAIL No. 32192 of 2025
2
since 29.01.2025 and hence, the applicant seeks to be released on bail.
4. Learned A.G.A. for State has opposed the prayer for bail of the
applicant, but could not dispute the aforesaid facts.
5. This Court has taken into consideration the rival submissions made by
learned counsel for the parties and perused the record.
6. Considered that the arrest and recovery has been made in the absence
of independent witness. The mandatory provisions of NDPS Act is a
subject matter of trial, which is still at the nascent stage.
7. Hence, without touching merit of the case, the bail application is
allowed.
8. The accused/applicant be released on bail in the aforesaid case on
furnishing a personal bond and two sureties each in the like amount to the
satisfaction of court concerned in view of observation made by the
Supreme Court in its dictums of Girish Gandhi Vs. State of Uttar
Pradesh [(2024) 10 SCC 674] and Policy Strategy for grant of bail in
re [(2024)10SCC 685].
9. The accused-applicant shall cooperate in judicial process for fair and
speedy disposal.
(Avnish Saxena,J.)
September 30, 2026
Shivangi
Digitally signed by :-
SHIVANGI YADAV
High Court of Judicature at Allahabad
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