The Supreme Court on Thursday expressed astonishment over the Calcutta High Court's decision to grant anticipatory bail to several individuals accused in a drug-related case under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act.

A Bench comprising Justices BR Gavai, Aravind Kumar, and KV Viswanathan remarked that granting anticipatory bail in NDPS cases is unprecedented.

"Anticipatory bail in an NDPS case? Unheard of. We will issue notice and ask the State to consider moving bail cancellation applications," Justice Gavai remarked.

The Court subsequently issued a notice to the West Bengal government, directing it to submit its response within four weeks.

The Bench was hearing an appeal against a July 8 order of the Calcutta High Court, which had denied anticipatory bail to one of the accused (petitioner). During the hearing, the petitioner’s counsel argued that several co-accused in the case had been granted anticipatory bail and requested similar treatment based on parity.

The Supreme Court expressed its surprise at this, particularly in light of the seriousness of the offences under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, and sought a response from the State.

The appeal was filed through advocate Abhijit Sengupta. 

The Supreme Court, in its 2021 ruling in *Union of India v. Md. Nawaz Khan*, highlighted that due to the gravity of offences under the NDPS Act, stringent conditions are set for granting bail. Similar to the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), the NDPS Act requires that bail cannot be granted ex parte without prima facie evidence that the accused is innocent and unlikely to reoffend.

Recently, the Allahabad High Court ruled that the bail restrictions under Section 37 of the NDPS Act apply only to trial courts and not constitutional courts.