No ‘absolute bar’ in granting bail to foreign nationals: HC
Times of India | 22 October 2024
Kolkata: There is no “absolute bar” in granting bail to a foreign national jailed in India without a valid visa, the Calcutta High Court said.
After spending more than five years in custody for violation of sections under NDPS Act and Section 14 of the Foreigners Act, a Bangladeshi national was granted bail by the HC on the grounds of prolonged incarceration due to delay in progress of the trial.
The accused was arrested on April 3, 2019 after allegedly carrying 40 g Yaba tablets and without any valid document in support of his entry into the Indian territory. The maximum imprisonment for violation of sections under NDPS Act was 10 years and for Section 14 of the Foreigners Act it was five years. The accused approached the division bench of Justice Arijit Banerjee and Justice Apurba Sinha Ray, saying he has undergone detention more than the maximum period for the Section 14 violation and more than half of the maximum punishment stipulated for violation of the two NDPS Act sections.
“In the present case, we find that the petitioner is in custody for 5 years 5 months. That is far too long a period of time to keep an undertrial incarceration,” the division bench of Justice Banerjee observed. It was noted that in the trial court’s rejection of the bail plea, it was stated that there was substantial delay because of Covid. The court stated that the accused cannot be blamed for that.
The state argued that a coordinate bench on May 16, 2023, had directed that the trial should be completed within two years, giving them adequate time. However, the court observed no substantial progress was made in the trial.