Q 1:- A person went to the police station with weapons and gave statement that he murdered his wife . What is the evidentiary value of such statement? How you will appreciate?
Ans:- Section 154 of the Code of Criminal Procedure provides for the recording of the first information. The information report as such is not substantive evidence. It may be used to corroborate the informant under s. 157 of the Evidence Act or to contradict him under s. 145 of the Act, if the informant is called as a witness. If the first information is given by the accused himself, the fact of his giving the information is admissible against him as evidence of his conduct under s. 8 of the Evidence Art. If the information is a non-confessional statement, it is admissible against the accused as an admission under s. 21 of the Evidence Act and is relevant.
Q 2 :-What will you do if anticipatory bail is filed in Case under SC ST Atrocities Act ?
Supreme Court: Court can not grant anticipatory bail in SC &ST Atrocities Act unless no prima facie case is made out against accused
ANS:- For NDPS offences, ordinary CrPC bail principles apply, but where section 37 is attracted, bail can be granted only if the court crosses the statutory “twin test” in addition to usual factors.
Statutory framework
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Section 37 creates a non‑obstante bar for offences under sections 19, 24, 27A and all offences involving commercial quantity of contraband; in such cases, “negation of bail is the rule and its grant is an exception”.
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For small and intermediate quantity cases (where section 37 is not triggered), courts apply the normal tests under sections 437/439 CrPC (or section 479 BNSS) – gravity of offence, prima facie case, possibility of absconding, tampering, etc.
Twin conditions under section 37
In section 37 cases, the court must record specific satisfaction on:
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Opportunity to PP
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Public Prosecutor must be given an opportunity to oppose bail; if opposed, the court must address the objection on record.
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Reasonable grounds to believe: not guilty
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There must be “reasonable grounds for believing” that the accused is not guilty of the alleged NDPS offence, on a prima facie evaluation of the case diary, seizure, links to the contraband, compliance with sections 42, 50, 52A, 67, etc.
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The burden is effectively on the accused to bring material which dislodges the prosecution version to this extent; unlike CrPC, the presumption of culpable mental state under section 35 NDPS also operates in prosecution’s favour.
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Reasonable grounds to believe: no further offence on bail
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The court must also be satisfied that the accused is not likely to commit any offence while on bail, considering past antecedents, role in organised trafficking, previous NDPS cases, and the nature of the alleged network.
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Both these limbs must be cumulatively satisfied; general observations about sympathy, illness, or merely long custody cannot substitute this statutory satisfaction.
Additional considerations from recent case law
Subject to the above statutory bar, courts still consider:
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Nature and quantity of contraband (small/intermediate/commercial), and whether conscious possession or direct nexus is prima facie shown.
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Role of the accused (carrier, link in larger conspiracy, financier, harbourer) and linkage through call records, recoveries, statements, earlier seizures.
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Compliance with mandatory procedural safeguards; serious lapses affecting admissibility or credibility of seizure and search may form the basis for saying section 37 is satisfied in favour of the accused.
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Period of incarceration and delay in trial: long custody and inordinate delay are relevant, but cannot by themselves override section 37; they operate only where the court can still honestly record the twin satisfaction.
Practical criterion you can apply in an order
In an NDPS bail order, a structured approach is to:
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Identify whether the alleged quantity and sections involved attract section 37; if not, apply ordinary bail tests with gravity in mind.
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If section 37 applies, explicitly:
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Record that PP was heard and objections considered.
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Examine the material to see if there are reasonable grounds to believe the accused is not guilty (e.g., doubtful recovery, lack of conscious possession, weak link in conspiracy, or clear procedural violations affecting the substratum of the case).
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Assess antecedents and role to decide whether he is not likely to reoffend on bail.
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Only if both statutory conditions and normal bail considerations favour the accused should bail be granted, with conditions tailored to ensure presence, non‑tampering, and non‑repetition.
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