UNION OF INDIA VS. CHIDIEBERE KINGSLEY NAWCHARA - Crl.A. No. 3878/2026 - Diary Number 44721 / 2025 - 17-Aug-2026 (Uploaded On 17-08-2026 17:57:39)
2026 INSC 870
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REPORTABLE
IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA
CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTION
CRIMINAL APPEAL NO(s). ____________ OF 2026
(@Special Leave Petition (Crl.)No(s). 14185 of 2025)
UNION OF INDIA ... APPELLANT(S)
VERSUS
CHIDIEBERE KINGSLEY
NAWCHARA & ORS. ... RESPONDENT(S)
J U D G M E N T
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SANJAY KAROL, J.
For ease of reference, this judgment is divided as follows:
INDEX
The Appeal ............................................................................................ 3
Orders Passed by this Court .................................................................. 9
Analysis And Consideration ................................................................ 13
The NDPS Act- Scheme & Relevant Provisions .........................................13
Bail under Special Statutes .....................................................................18
Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 ..............................................23
Unlawful Activities Prevention Act, 1967 ..................................................28
Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 ...........................35
Principles Regarding the Grant of Bail to Foreign Nationals .....................43
Applying the understanding to the Present Facts and Cancellation of Bail49
The Issue Regarding Sureties .............................................................. 55
Factual Matrix : Non-existence of Sureties .......................................... 59
Indian Statutory Position and Comparative International Perspective .......74
Inputs by the Amicus Curiae, Agencies and the Appellant ........................79
Power of this Court to issue Directions under Article 142 ....................... 103
OUR VIEW ......................................................................................... 114
Analysing The Inputs – and Our Opinion Thereupon .............................. 114
Directions .............................................................................................. 132
Suggestions ........................................................................................... 136
Annexure I..................................................................................142
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1. Leave Granted.
The Appeal
2. At first glance, the scope of this appeal appears to be limited.
Union of India is aggrieved by the grant of bail to the respondent(s)-
accused in connection with Crime No. 37 of 2023 registered with
the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence1 branch under Sections 8(c),
21(c), 23(c), 27A, 28 and 29 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic
Substances Act, 19852 and as such, is in appeal thereagainst. All
that would be required of this Court then would be to adjudicate
the correctness of the impugned order 3 on the well-settled
principles of appeal against grant of bail, as recently encapsulated
by this Court in Ashok Dhankad v. State (NCT of Delhi) 4.
However, we only wish it were so. Instead, what has come to light
in these proceedings is deeply unsettling.
3. The respondent -accused, namely Chidi ebere Kingsley
Nawchara, was arrested on 16th March 2023 in connection with a
total of 4935 grams of heroin recovered from the possession of one
1 DRI
2 NDPS Act/The Act
3 Criminal Bail Application No. 4139 Of 2024 dated 5th May 2025
4 2025 SCC OnLine SC 1690
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Damodar Surya Rama Prasad Dubey, who was apprehended at the
Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport, Mumbai, upon
his return from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia . This ‘consignment’, it was
revealed, was to be further delivered to the respondent – accused
by one Hekatoli Sumi, a resident of Delhi. Her statement led to his
arrest. The investigation was carried out and completed,
culminating in the filing of the chargesheet in NDPS Spl. Case No.
1449 of 2023 on 6th September 2023.
3.1 The relevant extracts of the chargesheet are as below:
“x. She voluntarily tendered a red coloured envelope
ha