Supreme Court sets aside Gauhati High Court order granting bail to two accused nabbed with morphine

The Supreme Court has set aside a Gauhati High Court order which granted bail to two men, accused of possessing about 13 kgs of morphine. 

A bench of Chief Justice UU Lalit and Justice Bela M Trivedi on October 21 gave this order keeping aside the Gauhati High Court order granting bail to the two accused identified as Khalil Uddin and Mohammad Abdul Hai alias Abdul Hai Talukdar. 

A case has been registered against these two drug smugglers under section 21C and co-section 29 of the Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act (NDPS Act) 1985. 

The High Court had released both the accused after spending about a year in jail, against which the NCB appealed in the Supreme Court.

''In our opinion, the High Court could not and should not have released the accused on bail under Section 37 of the NDPS Act,'' the top court said.

''We, therefore, allow these appeals of NCB and set aside the decision of the High Court and direct that both appellants should be taken into custody immediately,'' the court added. 

As per the prosecution, about 13 kg of morphine was found in a car which was driven by a co-accused named Mohammad Zakir Hussain.