Legal principle

The right to bail cannot be defeated by the non-existence of sureties; the Supreme Court may, under Article 142, institute a state-regulated regime of licensed professional bail bondspersons — with verification, disciplinary oversight and forfeiture under Section 493 BNSS, 2023 — so that bail, particularly for foreign national accused, is effective in practice.

Court decision

Leave was granted. On the narrow question of the correctness of the bail grant, the extract does not disclose the final result, so no holding on confirmation or cancellation of the bail can be stated from it. What the extract does support is that the Court, in exercise of its power under Article 142, issued directions establishing a regulatory framework for professional bail bondspersons — the 'Professional Bail Bondsperson (Regulation) Rules, 2026' — comprising a State Bail Bondsperson Regulatory Authority, licensing with show-cause notice and suspension for erring bondspersons, cancellation review after three or more suspensions, disciplinary inquiries for fraud, misrepresentation, financial impropriety or unethical practices (with a mandatory review hearing within seven days of suspension without hearing), record-keeping and audit obligations, and a prescribed surety bond format (with additional documents, such as a court order permitting the professional bond, where the accused is a foreign national), bonds being enforceable upon forfeiture under Section 493 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023.

Facts

On DRI's case, 4935 grams of heroin was recovered from one Damodar Surya Rama Prasad Dubey, apprehended at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport, Mumbai on his return from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and Crime No. 37 of 2023 was registered under Sections 8(c), 21(c), 23(c), 27A, 28 and 29 of the NDPS Act, 1985. The respondent, Chidiebere Kingsley Nawchara, was arrested on 16 March 2023 on the statement of Hekatoli Sumi, who said she was to collect the trolley bag from Dubey and deliver the consignment to him, and a chargesheet was filed on 6 September 2023 in NDPS Spl. Case No. 1449 of 2023. The Special Judge for NDPS Cases, Greater Mumbai rejected the respondent's bail on 12 September 2024, treating him as the alleged mastermind, a habitual offender (convicted by the Sessions Court, Patiala House in NDPS Case No. 8510/2016 and out on bail) and a member of an international drug trafficking syndicate per WhatsApp chats. By a later order dated 5 May 2025 in Criminal Bail Application No. 4139 of 2024, the respondent was granted regular bail, and the Union of India appealed to the Supreme Court. Hearing the appeal, the Court found what the proceedings had revealed about sureties to be 'deeply unsettling' and expanded the matter into a broad examination of bail under special statutes and the regulation of sureties.

Key provisions

• Section 37, The Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 — Offences to be cognizable and non-bailable.
• Section 43, The Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 — Power of seizure and arrest in public place.
• Section 34, The Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 — Security for abstaining from commission of offence.
• Section 27A, The Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 — Punishment for financing illicit traffic and harbouring offenders.
• Section 35, The Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 — Presumption of culpable mental state.
• Section 31A, The Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 — Death penalty for certain offences after previous conviction.
• Section 8(c), The Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 — Prohibition of certain operations.
• Section 29, The Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 — Punishment for abetment and criminal conspiracy.
• Section 28, The Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 — Punishment for attempts to commit offences.
• Section 23(c), The Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 — Punishment for illegal import in to India, export from India or transhipment of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances.
• Section 21(c), The Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 — Punishment for contravention in relation to manufactured drugs and preparations.