Thana Singh vs Central Bureau Of Narcotics

The Supreme Court addressed the issue of prolonged incarceration of undertrial prisoners under the Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 (NDPS Act), emphasizing that an accused cannot be denied bail if they have been in custody for more than half of the maximum sentence, which is twenty years in this case. The Court highlighted the need for expeditious trials in NDPS cases and referred to its previous judgment in Supreme Court Legal Aid Committee Representing Undertrial Prisoners Vs. Union of India, stressing that undertrials should be released on bail after five years of detention, subject to certain conditions. The Court granted bail to the appellant, Thana Singh, and initiated a review of the trial processes for similar cases across states.