While rejecting the undertaking offered by the brother of an accused, the Supreme Court observed in a recent order that the sins of an accused cannot be visited on the family members.

A bench comprising Justice Manmohan and Justice NV Anjaria made this observation while setting aside the bail granted to a person accused of possessing 731.075 kilograms of ganja worth about ₹2.91 crore.

Before the Supreme Court, the counsel for the respondent submitted that the brother of the accused, who is a Sepoy in the Indian Army, had given an undertaking that the accused would not abscond.

Rejecting this submission, the Court observed, "if the Respondent were to abscond, his brother cannot be sent to prison. In India, the alleged sins of an accused cannot be visited on his brother or other family members."

The Court set aside the order of the Andhra Pradesh High Court which granted bail to the accused, observing that the High Court did not examine if the conditions under Section 37 of the NDPS Act were met.

The Court further noted that the allegations indicated organised trafficking, including fabrication of concealed cavities beneath the trailer to transport the contraband. In such circumstances, the custody period of one year and four months could not be considered unreasonably long given that the offences carry a minimum of ten years imprisonment.

In the order, the Court also made certain pertinent observations about the alarming rise of drug addiction among Indian youth.

Case : UNION OF INDIA v. NAMDEO ASHRUBA NAKADE