MUMBAI: The Bombay High Court has granted bail to a man accused of carrying nearly 1.5 kg of cocaine, observing that authorities had committed a “gross violation” of procedure by failing to produce him before the trial court on most dates for more than two years.A division bench of Justices Sarang V. Kotwal and Ashish S. Chavan passed the order on July 29 while hearing a habeas corpus petition filed by Satly Thomas, who is facing trial in an NDPS case arising from an investigation by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI).According to the prosecution, DRI officials intercepted Thomas at CSMI Airport, , early on August 18, 2023, after receiving information that he was carrying narcotics concealed in his luggage.A search allegedly led to the recovery of three packets containing 666 grams, 629 grams and 467 grams of cocaine.The total net weight was 1,496 grams, substantially above the 100-gram commercial quantity prescribed under the NDPS Act.Thomas challenged his continued detention, alleging that although he was arrested around 2.30 am on August 18, 2023, he was shown as arrested only at 10.30 am the following day and produced before a magistrate at 4.20 pm on August 19.The High Court, however, focused on a more serious issue concerning his production before the court during custody.The court noted that between August 2023 and December 2025, Thomas was physically produced before the court on only five occasions out of 70 dates.Apart from these occasions, he was not produced either physically or through video conferencing, barring four attempts at connecting through video conferencing.The court also noted that after the Special Court took cognizance of the case on February 9, 2024, there was no communication between the trial court and the jail authorities regarding extension of his remand until April 2025.“This, in our opinion, is gross violation of the procedure,” the bench observed, holding that there was no authority for the Superintendent of Taloja Central Prison to keep Thomas incarcerated during that period of more than one year.Referring to a Supreme Court ruling which stressed that production of an accused before court is a fundamental safeguard against abuse and enables a prisoner to raise grievances directly before the court, the bench held that Thomas’s non-production amounted to a violation of his fundamental right to a fair trial under Article 21 of the Constitution.“The court said the seriousness of the alleged offence could not justify ignoring mandatory procedural safeguards. It consequently ordered Thomas’s release on bail on furnishing a personal bond of Rs 50,000 with one or two sureties of the same amount.” said advocate Prasanna Namboodiri.
