NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court has granted bail to a man convicted under the stringent provisions of Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act after noting that he has spent more than seven years in custody and there is no likelihood of his appeal being heard by the Patna High Court in the near future.
A Bench of Justices Sanjay Kumar and K. Vinod Chandran allowed the appeal filed by Manoj Kumar Gupta and set aside the order of the Patna High Court, which had earlier refused to suspend his sentence and grant bail.
Gupta had challenged the May 15, 2025, order of the Patna High Court rejecting his plea for suspension of sentence in a criminal appeal arising out of an FIR registered in 2000 in connection with offences under Sections 20(b)(ii)(C), 23(c), 24, 27A and 29 of the NDPS Act.
Taking note of the prolonged incarceration, the apex court said that Gupta had already spent over seven years in custody and his appeal before the Patna High Court is unlikely to be taken up for hearing anytime soon.