Case Details: Nur Alam Hussain vs. State of Assam (2026) 43 Centax 325 (Gau.)
Judiciary and Counsel Details
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- Shamima Jahan, J
- Shri S.C. Biswas, Ms K L R Yanthan, Ms S. Chanda, Ms J. Ghosh, Ms U. Nanda, Advs, for the Petitioner.
- PP, ASSAM, Adv., for the Respondent.
Facts of the Case
An FIR was registered alleging offences under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act after the petitioners were apprehended during naka checking. During the search, suspected heroin was recovered from two vehicles and the articles were seized. The petitioners were arrested, and the criminal case came to be pending before the Additional District and Sessions Judge. They thereafter filed bail applications before the High Court. The petitioners contended that the arrest was vitiated due to non-compliance with section 36 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS). According to them, the arrest memorandum did not bear the attestation of a family member as contemplated under section 36(b). The arrest memorandum, however, recorded that intimation of the arrest had been sent to a relative or friend. The matter was placed before the High Court.
CESTAT Held
The High Court held that section 36(c) of the BNSS applies where family-witness attestation under section 36(b) is not available and requires that intimation of the arrest be given to a relative or friend. Since the arrest memorandum recorded that such intimation had been given, the absence of family-witness attestation did not vitiate the arrest. Accordingly, bail could not be granted on that ground.
