S.Sathish Kumar v. The State Of Tamilnadu Represented By Intelligence Officer
BEFORE THE MADURAI BENCH OF MADRAS HIGH COURT ( Criminal Jurisdiction ) Date : 19.06.2026 PRESENT THE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE P. DHANABAL CRL OP(MD). No. 10916 of 2026 S.Sathish Kumar
...Petitioner
Vs State of Tamil Nadu rep. by The Intelligence Officer, Narcotics Control Bureau, Madurai Sub Zone, Madurai.
NCB.F.No.48/1/04/2019-NCB/MDU ...Respondent/Complainant For Petitioner : Mr.N.Mani Maran Advocate For Respondent : Mr.C.Arul Vadivel @ Sekar Special Public Prosecutor for NCB Cases PETITION FOR BAIL Under Sec.483 of BNSS PRAYER :- For Bail in NCB.F.No.48/1/04/2019-NCB/MDU on the file of the respondent police.
ORDER : The Court made the following order :- The petitioner / Accused, who was arrested and remanded to judicial custody on 04.05.2019, for the offences punishable under Sections 8(c) r/w. 1/7
20(b)(ii)(C), 28, 29 of NDPS Act, in NCB.F.No.48/1/04/2019-NCB/MDU, on the file of the respondent police, seeks bail.
2. The case of the prosecution is that on secret information on 02.05.2019 at about 17.00 hours, the respondent received a secret information that one Raja Sekar and two others have procured substantial quantity of ganja from Andhra Pradesh and they are planning to transport the same through the vehicle bearing reg. No.TN 07 CF 5280, further they reached Dindigul and will stay at night in some hotel at Dindigul, pursuant to the same, the team conducted raid at alleged combined hotel compound, where they seized 406.100 kgs. of ganja from the Car and found the accused persons. Hence, the case.
3. The learned counsel appearing for the petitioner would submit that the petitioner is innocent and he was falsely implicated in this case and he has not committed any offence as alleged by the prosecution. Though the quantity involved in this case is commercial quantity, the petitioner is in custody for 7 years. The trial is also pending before the trial Court. The learned counsel appearing for the petitioner relied on the judgment of the Hon'ble Supreme Court in the case of Ankur Chaudhary.vs. State of Madhya Pradesh in Special Leave to Appeal (crl.) No.4648 of 2024 . Hence, he prayed bail for the 2/7
petitioner.
4. The learned Government Advocate (crl. Side) appearing for the respondent would submit that the offence are grave in nature. The quantity involved in this case is commercial quantity. The petitioner has no previous case. Investigation has been completed and charge has also been filed before the concerned Court. The co-accused in this case were convicted in separate trial. The trial in respect of this petitioner is pending. I.O has also been examined. Petitioner did not choose to cross examine the witnesses. Hence, he opposed the grant of bail to the petitioner.
5. This Court heard both sides and perused the materials available on record.
6. Considering the rival submissions made by the learned counsel on either side, considering the nature of charges levelled against the petitioner, though the prosecution has stated that the quantity involved in this case is commercial quantity, the petitioner is in custody for 7 years and now the material witnesses have been examined in the trial and also taking into consideration the judgment relied on by the learned counsel appearing for the 3/7
petitioner in the case of Ankur Chaudhary.vs. State of Madhya Pradesh in Special Leave to Appeal (crl.) No.4648 of 2024, Wherein the Hon'ble Supreme Court has observed that it is to observe that failure to conclude the trial within a reasonable time in prolonged incarceration militates Article 21 of the Constitution of India and as such conditional liberty overriding the statutory embargo created under Section 37(1)(b) of the NDPS Act, in such circumstances, be considered, in the case of hand also the case is posted for trial and so far the trial has not been concluded and there is no scope to conclude the trial within the short time, this Court is inclined to grant bail to the petitioner subject to the following conditions: [a] Accordingly, the petitioner is ordered to be released on bail on condition to execute a bond for a sum of Rs.10,000/- (Rupees Ten Thousand only) with two sureties each for a like sum to the satisfaction of the learned I Additional District and Sessions Judge, Special Court for NDPS Act Cases, Madurai, and on further conditions that:
[b] the petitioner shall report before the learned I Additional District and Sessions Judge, Special Court for NDPS Act Cases, Madurai, at 10.30 a.m. and 05.00 p.m., on all working days, until further orders:
4/7
[c] the petitioner shall not commit any offence similar to the offence of which he/she is accused, or suspected, or of the commission of which he/she is suspected;
[d] the petitioner shall not abscond either during investigation or trial;
[e] the petitioner shall not directly or indirectly make any inducement, threat or promise to any person acquainted with the facts of the case so as to dissuade her from disclosing such facts to the Court or to any police officer or tamper with the evidence; [f] On breach of any of the aforesaid conditions, the learned Judicial Magistrate/Trial Court is entitled to take appropriate action against the petitioner in accordance with law as if the conditions have been imposed and the petitioner released on bail by the learned Magistrate/Trial Court himself as laid down by the Hon'ble Supreme Court in P.K.Shaji vs. State of Kerala [(2005)AIR SCW 5560]. [g] If the accused thereafter absconds, a fresh FIR can be registered under Section 269 BNS.
(P D B J) 19.06.2026 TM 5/7
To 1.The I Additional District and Sessions Judge, Special Court for NDPS Act Cases, Madurai.
2.The Intelligence Officer, Narcotics Control Bureau, Madurai Sub Zone, Madurai.
3.The Superintendent, Central Prison, Madurai. 4.The Additional Public Prosecutor, Madurai Bench of Madras High Court, Madurai.
6/7
P. DHANABAL, J.
TM
ORDER
IN CRL OP(MD) No. 10916 of 2026 Date : 19.06.2026 7/7