Criminal Appeal Nos 810 811 of 1989
From the Judgement and Order dated 2291989 of the Delhi High Court in Crl
WP No 622 of 1988 and Crl
Main Petition No 1132 of 1988
JS Arora Sudhansu section Das Satish Agrawal and NP Kaushik for the Appellant
VC Mahajan AK Ganguli Ashok Bhan A Subhashini PP Tripathi and SK Sabharwal for the Respondents
The Judgement of the Court was delivered by K JAYACHANDRA REDDY J The High Court of Delhi by a common order in two petitions filed under The Narcotic Drugs  Psychtropic Substances Act 1985 NDPS Act  for short held that the restrictions placed on the powers of the Court to grant bail in certain offences under the amended Section 37 of the NDPS Act are not applicable to the High Court
Aggrieved by the said order the Narcotic Control Bureau has filed these two appeals
The peritioners before the High Court in two different cases were arrested for offences under various Sections of the NDPS Act
They were refused bail and remanded to judicial custody
On the basis of the report the Magistrate concerned took cognizance and remanded them to judicial custody
The petitioners filed a writ petition as well as a criminal miscellaneous petition seeking bail firstly on the ground that they are entitled to be released on bail as required under Section 1672 of the Code of Criminal Procedure as the charge sheet was filed at a belated stage and secondly on the ground of illness
A learned Single Judge referred this matter to a Division Bench and the Division Bench by the impugned order held that the limitations placed on the Special Court under Section 372 of the NDPS Act cannot be read as 142 fetters on the High Court in exercise of powers under Section 439 Cr
PC for granting bail
The only limited question to be decided in these appeals is whether the view taken by the High Court is right or wrong and we may also mention that leave was granted only to this limited extent
The learned counsel appearing forthe appellants submitted that the High Court has misconstrued the provisions of Section 36 A and 37 of the NDPS Act and that latter Section as amended starts with the non obstante clause limiting the scope of provisions of the Cr
PC in the matter of granting bail and as such the High Court has no untremelled powers to grant bail inasmuch as the provisions of the amended Section 37 of the NDPS Act override the provisions of Section 439 Cr
We may at this stage note the relevant provisions of NDPS Act
The preamble to the NDPS Act shows that the object of the Act is to consolidate and amend the law relating to narcotic drugs and to make stringent provisions for the control and regulation of operations relating to narcotic drugs and psychotrophic substances etc
Sections 15 to 35 deal with various offences and penalties
Section 36 provides for constitution of Special Courts and empower the Government to constitute Special Courts and a person shall not be qualified for appointment as a Judge of the Special Court unless he is immediately before such appointment a Sessions Judge or an Additional Sessions Judge
Section 36 A enumerates the offences triable by Special Courts and also deals with the procedure regarding the detention of the accused when produced before a Magistrate
Sub section b of Section 36 A lays down that if the Magistrate to whom an accused is forwarded under Section 167 Cr PC considers that the detention of such person for fifteen days is unnecessary he shall forward him to the Special Court having jurisdiction who shall take cognizance and proceed with the trial
Sub section 3 of Section 36 A reads thus Nothing contained in this section shall be deemed to affect the special powers of the High Court regarding bail under Section 439 of the Code of Criminal Procedure 1973 2 of 1974 and the High Court may exercise such powers including the power under clause b of sub section 1 of that section as if the reference to magistrate in that section included also a reference to a Special Court constituted under Section 36
 143 Now let us note Section 37 as amended in the year 1989 and the same is in the following terms 37
Offences to be cognizable and non bailable 1 Notwithstanding anything contained in the Code of Criminal Procedure 1973 2 of 1974 a every offence punishable under this Act shall be cognizable b no person accused of an offence punishable for a term of imprisonment of five years or more under this Act shall be released on bail or on his own bond unless i The Public Prosecutor has been given an opportunity to oppose the application for such release and ii where the Public Prosecutor oppose the application the court is satisfied that there are reasonable grounds for believing that he is not guilty of such offence and that he is not likely to commit any offence while on bail
2 The limitations on granting of bail specified in clause b of sub section 1 are in addition to the limitations under the Code of Criminal Procedure 1973 2 of 1974 or any other law for the law being in force on granting of bail
 Now it becomes necessary to extract Section 439 Cr
P C which reads as under 439
Special powers of the High Court or Court of Section regarding bail 1 A High Court or Court of Session may direct a that any person accused of an offence and in custody be released on bail and if the offence is of the nature specified in sub section 3 of Section 437  may impose any condition which it considers necessary for the purposes mentioned in that sub section b that any condition imposed by a magistrate when releasing any person on bail be set aside or modified Provided that the High Court or the Court of Session shall 144 before granting bail to a person who is accused on anoffence which is triable exclusively by the Court of Session or which though not so triable is punishable with imprisonment for life give notice of the application for bail to the Public prosecutor unless it is for reason to be recorded in writing  of opinion that it is not practicable to give such notice
2 A High Court or Court of Session may direct that any person who has been released on bail under this Chapter be arrested and commit him to custody
 The High Court having taken into consideration sub section 3 of Section 36 A took the view that the limitations placed on the Special Courts cannot be read as fetters in its exercise of the powers under Section 439 Cr
In this context the Division Bench referred to to sub sections8 and 9 of Section 20 of the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities Prevention Act 1987  TADA Act  for short which are similar to Section 37 of NDPS Act and also relied on a judgment of this Court in Usmanbhai Dawoodbhai Memon and Others vs State of Gujarat  a case which arose under the TADA Act
We shall refer to this judgment at a later stage after analysing the scope and effect of Section 37 of NDPS Act
Section 37 as amended starts with a non obstante clause stating that notwithstanding anything contained in the Code of Criminal Procedure 1973 no person accused of an offence prescribed therein shall be released on bail unless the conditions contained therein were satisfied
The nDPS Act is a special enactment as already noted it was enacted with a view to make stringent provision for the control and regulation of operations relating to narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances
The being the underlying object and particularly when the provisions of Section 37 of NDPS Act are in negative terms limiting the scope of the applicability of the provisions of Cr
PC regarding bail in our view it cannot be held that the High Court s powers to grant bail under Section 439 Cr
PC are not subject to the limitation mentioned under Section 37 of NDPS Act
The non obstante clause with which the Section starts should be given its due meaning and clearly it is intended to restrict the powers to grant bail
In case of inconistency between Section 439 Cr
PC and Section 37 of the NDPS Act Section 37 prevails
In this context Section 4 Cr
PC may be noted which read thus 145 4 Trial of offences under the Indian Penal Code and other laws 1 All offences under the Indian Penal Code 45 of 1860 shall be investigated inquired into tried and otherwise dealt with according to the provision hereinafter contained
2 All offences under any other law shall be investigated inquired into tried and otherwise dealt with according to the same provision but subject to any enactment for the time being in force regulating the manner or place of investigating inquiring into trying or otherwise dealing with such offences
 It can thus be seen that when there is a special enactment in force relating to the manner of investigation enquiry or otherwise dealing with such offences the other powers under Cr
PC should be subject to such special enactment
In interpretating the scope of such a statute the dominant purpose underlying the statute has to be borne in mind
In Lt Col Prithi Pal Singh Bedi etc
vs Union of India  Others regarding the mode of interpretation the Supreme Court observed as follows The dominant purpose in construing a statute is to ascertain the intention of Parliament
One of the well recognised canons of construction is that the legislature speaks its mind by use of correct expression and unless there is any ambiguity in the language of the provision the Court should adopt literal construction if it does not lead to an absurdity
 As already noted Section 37 of the nDPS Act starts with a non obstante clause stating that notwithstanding anything contained in the Conde of Criminal Procedure 1973 no personaccused of an offence prescribed therein shall be released on bail unless the conditions contained therein are satisfied
Consequently the power to grant bail under any of the provisions of Cr
PC should necessarily be subject to the conditions mentioned in Section 37 of the NDPS Act
We shall now refer to some of the decisions of the Court dealing with the analogous provision in other special enactments
Rule 184 of the Defence and Internal Security of India Rules 1971 which is analogous to Sec
37 of the NDPS Act runs as follows 146 Rule 184
Notwithstanding anything contained in the Code of Criminal Procedure 1898 V of 1898 no person accused or convicted of a contravention of these Rules or orders made thereunder shall if in custody be released on bail or his own bond unless a the prosecution has been given an opportunity to opposed the application for such release and b where the prosecution opposes the application and the contravention is of any such provision of these Rules or orders made thereunder as the Central Government or the State Government may be notified order specify in this behalf the Court is satisfied that there are reasonable grounds for believing that he is not guilty of such contravention
 The Rule commences with a non obstante clause and in its operative part imposes a ban on release on bail of a person accused or convicted of a contravention of the Rules
it imposes fetters on the exercise of the power of granting bail in certain kinds of cases
In Balchand Jain vs State of Madhya Pradesh  a question arose whether the power to grant anticipatory bail under Section 438 can stand side by side with Rule 184 of whether former provision is overridden by the latter
This Court held that Rule 184 does not stand in the way of Court of Session or High Court granting anticipatory bail on the ground that the two provision operate at two different stages
Of course in the instant case we are not concerned with Section 438 but the observation regarding the scope of Rule 184 are relevant which read thus But even if Rule 184 does not apply in such a case the policy behind this Rule would have to be borne in mind by the Court while exercising its power to grant anticipatory bail  under Section 438
The Rule making authority obviously though offences arising out of contravention of Rules and orders made there under were serious offences as they might imperil the defence of India or civil defence or internal security or public safety or maintenance of public order or hamper maintenance of supplies and services to the life of the community and hence it provided in Rule 184 that no person accused or convicted or contravention of any Rule or order made under the Rules shall be 147 released on bail unless the prosecution is given an opportunity to oppose the application for such release and in case the contravention is of a Rule or order specified in this behalf in a notified order there are reasonable grounds for believing that the person concerned is not guilty of such contravention
If these are the conditions provided by the Rule making authority for releasing on bail a person arrested on an accusation of having committed contravention of any Rule or order made under the Rules it must follow a fortiori that the same conditions must provide the guidelines while exercising the power to grant anticipatory bail to a person apprehending arrest on such accusation though they would not be strictly applicable emphasis supplied Fazal Ali J in his concurring judgment also held thus 4_that in cases covered by r 184 of the Rules the Court exercising power under section 436 or section 438 of the Code has go to comply with the conditions mentioned in clauses a  b of r 184 and only after the Court has complied with those conditions that an order under any of these section of the Code in respect of such offences could be passed
 In Usmanbhai s case a question whether the provisions of sub sections 8 and 9 of Section 20 of the TADA Act limit the scope of Sections 437 and 439 came up for consideration
The language of sub sections 8 and 9 of section 20 is analogous to Section 37 of NDPS Act and they read thus 8 Notwithstanding anything contained in the Code no person accused on an offence punishable under this Act or any rule made thereunder shall if in custody if in custody be released on bail or on his own bond unless a the Public Prosecutor has been given an opportunity to oppose the application for such release and b where the Public Prosecutor opposes the application the court is satisfied that there are reasonable grounds for believing that he is not guilty of such offence and that he is not likely to commit any offence while on bail
9 The limitation on granting of bail specified in sub section 8 are in addition to the limitations under the Code or any other law for the time being in force or granting of bail
 It may be noted at this stage that the power of the High Court or the Sessions Court to grant anticipatory bail has been completely taken away under Section 207 of the TADA Act
The contention was that the sources of power of a designated court to grant bail is under Section 437 subject to some limitations under Section 208 and that it does not in any manner affect the power of the High Court independently under Section 439 to grant bail
It is also contended that to take away the power of the High Court would tantamount to strike at the very foundation of an independent judiciary free from executive control
After considering these submissions this Court held that Though there is no express provision excluding the applicability of Section 439 of the Code similar to the one contained in Section 207 of the Act in relation to a case involving the arrest of any person on an accusation of having committed an offence punishable under the Act or any rule made thereunder but that result must by necessary implication follow
it is true that the source of powerof a Designated Court to grant bail is no Section 208 of the Act as it only places limitations on such power
This is made explicit by Section 209 which enacts that the limitations on granting of bail specified in Section 208 are in addition to the limitations under the Code or any other law law for the time being in force 
But it does not necessarily follow that the power of a Designated Court to grant bail is relatable to Section 439 of the Code
it cannot be doubted that a Designated Court is a court other than the High Court or the Court of Session  within the meaning of of section 437 of the Code
The exercise of the power to grant bail by a Designated Court is not only subject to the limitations contained therein but is also subject to the limitations placed by Section 208 of the Act emphasis supplied Having held so the learned Judge proceeded to consider the controversy as to the power of the High Court to grant bail under Section 439 Cr
PC Act excluding the jurisdiction of the High Court entertain an 149 appeal or revision against the judgment of the designated court it is held that the High Court had no jurisdiction to entertain an application for bail under Section 439 or Section 482 of the Code of Criminal procedure
however regarding the construction of non obstante clause in Sec
208 of the Act this Court held as under The controversy as to the power of the High Court to grant bail under Section 439 of the Code must also turn on the construction of Section 208 of the Act
It commences with a non obstante clause and in its operative part by the use of negative language prohibits the enlargement on bail of any person accused of commission of an offence under the Act if in custody unless two conditions are satisfied
The first condition is that the prosecution must be given an opportunity to oppose the application for such release and the second condition is that where there is such opposition the court must be satisfied that there are reasonable grounds for believing that he is not guilty of such offence and that he is not likely to commit any offence while on bail
If either of these two conditions is not satisfied the ban operates and the person under detention cannot be released on bail
it is quite obvious that the source of power of a Designated Court to grant bail is not section 208 of the Act but it only places limitations on such powers
This is implicit by Section 209 which in terms provides that the limitations or granting of bail specified in sub section 8 are in addition to the limitations under the Code or any other law for the time being in force on granting of bail
it therefore follows that the power derived by a Designated Court to grant bail to a person accused of an offence under the Act if in custody is derived from the Code and not from section 208 of the Act
It can thus be seen that even in Usmanbhai s case also there is no observation supporting the view taken by the High Court in the impugned judgment
As a matter of fact in Usmanbhai s case Sen J who spoke for the Bench after referring to the ratio laid down in Balchand Jain s case observed thus The view expressed in Balchand Jain case is not applicable at all for more than one reason
There was nothing in the defence and Internal Security of India Act or the Rules framed there under which would exclude the jurisdiction 150 and power of the High Court altogether
On the contrary Section 122 of that Act expressly vested in the High Court the appellate jurisdiction in certain specified cases
In view of the explicit bar in Section 192 there is exclusion of the jurisdiction of the High Court
It interdicts that no appeal or revision shall lie to any court including the High Court against any judgment sentence or order not being an interlocutory order of a Designated Court
The Act by Section 161 confers the right of appeal both on facts as well as on law to the Supreme Court
Further while it is true that Chapter XXXIII of the Code is still preserved as otherwise the Designated Court would have no power to grant bail still the source of power is not Section 439 of the Code but Section 437 being a court other than the High Court or the Court of Session
Any other view would lead to an anomalous situation
If it were to be held that the power of a Designated Court to grant bail was relatable to Section 439 it would imply that not only the High Court but also the High Court of Session would be entitled to grant bail on such terms as they deem fit
The power to grant bail under Section 439 is unfettered by any conditions and limitations like Section 437
It would run counter to the express prohibition contained in Section 208 of the Act which enjoins that notwithstanding anything in the code no person accused of an offence punishable under the Act or any rule made thereunder shall if in custody be released on bail unless the conditions set forth in clauses a and b are satisfied emphasis supplied The High Court in the impugned judgment however referred to Usmanbhai s case and held that the limitations placed under Section 37 of the NDPS Act are exactly similar to the ones in sub section 8 and 9 of Section 20 of the TADA Act and they are applicable only to special courts
But we may point out that in paragraph 16 in Usmanbhai s case it is observed As a murder of construction we must accept the contention advanced by learned counsel appearing for the State Government that the Act being a special Act must prevail in respect of the jurisdiction and power of the High Court to entertain an application for bail under section 439 of the Code or by recourse to its inherent powers under section 482
 151 However as already mentioned the learned Judges held that the view expressed in Balchand Jain s case is not applicable to the facts in Usmanbhai s case and the same is clear from the observations made in Usmanbhai s case which read as under Lastly both the decision in Balchand Jain and that in Ishwar Chand turn on the scheme of the Defence and Internal Security of India Act 1971
They proceed on the well recognised principle that an outer of jurisdiction of the ordinary courts is not to be readily inferred except by express provision or by necessary implication
It all depends on the scheme of the particular Act as to whether the power of the High Court and the Court of Session to grant bail under Sections 438 and 439 exists
We must accordingly uphold the view expressed by the High Court that it had no jurisdiction to entertain an application for bail under Section 439 or under Section 482 of the Code From the above discussion it emerges that in Usmanbhai s case the Supreme Court did not express anything contrary to what has been observed in Balchand Jain s case and on the other hand at more than one place observed that such enactments should prevail over the general enactment and the non obstante clause must be powers of the High Court to grant bail under Section 439 are subject to the limitations contained in the amended Section 37 of the NDPS Act and the restrictions placed on the powers of the Court under the said section are applicable to the High Court also in the matter of granting bail
The point of law is ordered accordingly
The two accused respondents in these two appeals have been on bail pursuant to the order of the High Court for a long time
The learned counsel appearing for the Narcotics Control Bureau the appellant herein is also not pressing cancellation of the bail
Therefore we are not remitting the matters of the High Court for fresh consideration
Pending the proceedings they would continue to be on bail
Subject to the above clarification of law the appeals are disposed of
RP Appeals disposed of


Summary:
A writ petition was filed in the High Court challenging the communication of Respondent No 2 Corporation directing that no development be made in the disputed land and no building construction permitted within a certain distance from the chemical factories in view of the representations of the owners of the factories
The High Court allowed the writ petition and struck down the aforesaid communication
Being aggrieved and adversely affected by the judgment some of the owners of the chemical factories even though they were not parties in the writ petition filed a special leave petition
Disposing of the Appeal this Court HELD 1 Appellants can be said to be parties aggrieved by the judgment even if they are not regarded as necessary parties in the writ petition
251G 252A 2 In the facts and circumstances of the case there is no need to set aside the judgment of the High Court at the instance of the appellants
They are given liberty to file a review petition before the High Court
The review petition if filed shall be entertained by the High Court and the appellants given a hearing as if the matters were heard afresh as far as they are concerned
It is clarified that the review application will not be confined to the normal grounds on which a review can be sought but 251 the entire controversy will be regarded as open as between the appellants and the respondents
252A D