The Supreme Court of India has recently referred a crucial question to a larger bench concerning default bail for individuals accused under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985. 

The issue at hand revolves around whether an accused individual, charged under the NDPS Act, is entitled to default bail in the event of the prosecution's failure to furnish the report of the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) along with the charge sheet within the prescribed time.

The two-judge bench comprising Justices Aniruddha Bose and PV Sanjay Kumar referred this crucial question to a larger bench. This move was prompted by the diversity of views expressed by different benches on the matter. At the heart of the debate lies the interpretation of whether the absence of the FSL report renders the chargesheet incomplete and thereby warrants default bail for the accused.

The genesis of this referral can be traced back to a Special Leave Petition filed against a judgment of the Delhi High Court, which dismissed a plea for default bail citing the non-supply of the FSL report. 

The bench took cognizance of a previous judgment by a coordinate bench in the case of Central Bureau of Investigation vs. Kapil Wadhawan and Anr, which opined that the mere absence of certain documents alongside the chargesheet does not invalidate it.

The complexity of the issue is underscored by the existence of other pending petitions raising similar questions. While interim orders granting bail have been issued in some instances, a definitive stance from the Supreme Court is yet to be articulated. The referral to a larger bench reflects the Court's recognition of the need for a uniform and comprehensive interpretation of the law in this regard.

"In view of there being diversity of views of different Benches of this Court even on the question of granting interim bail, we are of the opinion that a larger Bench may decide the question as to whether failure on the part of the prosecution to include the FSL report pertaining to the seized contraband article(s) along with the chargesheet, within the time specified in Section 167(2) of the Code read with Section 36A of the NDPS Act, would entitle the accused to default bail or not," the bench observed.

Case: Hanif Ansari Vs state (Govt of NCT of Delhi),

Petition(s) for Special Leave to Appeal (Crl.) No(s). 15293/2023.

Click to read/download order