SURYAKANT RAMDAS MORE Vs. STATE OF MAHARASHTRA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) IN this bail application by the three applicants, who came to be arrested under the provisions of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985, a few points of some importance arise for consideration and it would be expedient to set our a few facts.

(2.) THE applicants were arrested on June 24, 1989 and were produced before the Metropolitan Magistrate, 12th Court, Bandra, Bombay on the next day. A remand was granted. The first remand was for 12 days and thereafter for 10 days. On July 12, 1989, the applicants filed an application for being released on bail and pending consideration that application, they came to be produced before the Additional Sessions Judge, Great Bombay, on July 17, 1989 and since then they came to be remanded from time to time. An application for bail presented by them, raising several contentions came to be considered by the learned Additional Sessions Judge and was decided on August 7, 1989, holding that he has invested with the powers of the Special Court to be established under section 36 of the Act, by virtue of the provisions of section 36-D as amended and that he was, therefore, competent to grant remand and hold the trial. The charge-sheet has not yet been filed against the applicants, but the application for bail which was presented before the learned Additional Sessions Judge was rejected in the view of the law taken by the learned Judge as well as on the merits.

(3.) THE first point urged by Shri Ponda, the learned Counsel for the applicants is that in view of the clear provisions of section 36-A (1) (d) of the Act, the Magistrate should not have passed an order authorising detention of the applicants for a period exceeding 15 days and since he authorised detention for a period exceeding 15 days, the detention was wholly unauthorised. Secondly, it is urged that the powers conferred on the Court of Session under section 36-D (1) of the Act were restricted to holding the trial by the Court of Sessions until a Special Court is constituted under section 36 and section 36-D cannot be construed to confer on the Court of Session the powers which have been conferred on the Special Court under section 36-A (1) (c) of the Act.