SC rejects NIA plea to cancel Kabir Talwar bail in 3,000kg Mundra drug haul case

The Supreme Court upheld Kabir Talwar’s bail in the 2021 Mundra drug haul, citing long incarceration and trial delay, but denied parity to other accused.

The Supreme Court on Thursday rejected the National Investigation Agency (NIA)’s plea to cancel the bail granted to Delhi-based nightclub owner Harpreet Singh Talwar alias Kabir Talwar, a key accused in the 2021 seizure of nearly 3,000 kg of heroin at Gujarat’s Mundra port, but said other accused cannot seek bail solely on the ground of parity.

The Supreme Court refused the NIA’s plea to cancel Kabir Talwar’s bail in the 3,000-kg Mundra heroin case, citing trial delay and long incarceration. (Instagram photo)

Disposing of a petition challenging the April 10 order of the Gujarat High Court granting bail to the Delhi-based clubbing tycoon, the court said that the High Court order noted that all sensitive witnesses in relation to the said accused had been examined.

However, it considered the long incarceration since August 2022 and the inordinate delay in the trial to allow the accused to be released on bail.

The bench headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant said that the bail had been granted in “peculiar” circumstances as it said, “Several sensitive witnesses qua the accused have been examined and the other accused shall not be treated on parity as their applications for bail will be considered by the concerned court on its own merits.”

The court further permitted the NIA to seek cancellation of bail if the accused delays the trial or attempts to influence witnesses.

Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Aishwarya Bhati, appearing for the NIA, told the court that the High Court order had relied on the delay in a case involving serious charges of international drug trafficking and terror financing under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). She stated that the High Court did not consider the statutory bar on bail provided under Section 43D(5) of the UAPA, which sets out the rigorous twin-test conditions to be satisfied for grant of bail.

The bench, also comprising Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana, said, “We are not willing to consider your arguments in this case.”

Talwar was arrested in connection with the seizure of 2,988.21 kg of narcotic drug (heroin) as part of a consignment sent from Afghanistan via Bandar Abbas Port, Iran, to Mundra Port, Gujarat, in September 2021. The contraband was imported into India, concealed with talc powder, and was imported by a company by the name Ashi Trading Company.

The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) had assigned the case to the NIA, which registered a case on October 16, 2021. It arrested several persons, including Talwar, and filed a charge sheet in March 2022 against 16 persons, even as it continued investigations against several accused who were still at large.

Talwar, who owns popular nightclubs in Delhi, had reportedly travelled to Dubai on several occasions and, as per the NIA charge sheet, was using his companies for receiving the contraband and remittances. The supplementary charge sheet filed by the NIA named 22 individuals and companies, including operatives in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, as the agency found a clear link to terror financing through the supply of drugs.