Supreme Court of India
DILIP PRADHAN VS. THE STATE OF CHHATTISGARH on 28 October 2026
IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA
CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTION
CRIMINAL APPEAL NO. OF 2026
(arising out of SLP(Crl.) No. 18306/2026
DILIP PRADHAN
APPELLANT(S)
VERSUS
STATE OF CHHATTISGARH
RESPONDENT(S)
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O R D E R
1. Leave granted.
2. The appellant, Dilip Pradhan, is aggrieved by the denial of regular bail by the High Court of Chhattisgarh at Bilaspur, vide order dated 18.03.2026 passed in MCRC No. 1760/2026. He seeks bail in relation to Crime/First Information Report (FIR) No. 105/2025 dated 24.05.2025 registered with Police Station – Tamnar, District – Raigarh, Chhattisgarh, for offences punishable under Sections 20(b)(ii) (C) and 29 of the Narcotic Drugs and
Digitally signed by Deepak Guglani Date: 2026.10.28 18:47:40 IST
Reason:
Signature Not Verified
Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985.
3. The appellant has been in custody since 14.10.2025.
4. We are informed that chargesheet has already been filed. Having perused the counter affidavit filed by the State of Chhattisgarh, we may observe that it is for the prosecution to establish its case against the appellant during the course of the trial. We, therefore, find no grounds to continue the incarceration of the appellant at this stage.
5. The appeal is, accordingly, allowed, setting aside the impugned order. The appellant, Dilip Pradhan, shall be released on bail in connection with the aforestated Crime/FIR on such appropriate terms and conditions as may be fixed by the Special Court.
6. In addition thereto, the appellant, Dilip Pradhan, shall continue to cooperate during the course of the trial and shall not unduly delay the proceedings therein.
7. We clarify that we have not made any observations/comments on the merits of the cases and any observation made in this order is meant only for the limited purpose of grant of bail.
8. Pending application(s), if any, shall stand disposed of. ......................J. (SANJAY KUMAR) ......................J. (SANJEEV SACHDEVA) NEW DELHI; OCTOBER 28, 2026.
ITEM NO.4 COURT NO.8 SECTION II-C S U P R E M E C O U R T O F I N D I A RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS Petition for Special Leave to Appeal (Crl.) No. 18306/2026 [Arising out of impugned final judgment and order dated 18-03-2026 in MCRC No. 1760/2026 passed by the High Court of Chhattisgarh at Bilaspur] DILIP PRADHAN Petitioner(s) VERSUS STATE OF CHHATTISGARH Respondent(s)
Date : 28-10-2026 This matter was called on for hearing today.
CORAM :
HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE SANJAY KUMAR HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE SANJEEV SACHDEVA For Petitioner(s) : Mr. Rajiv Kumar, Adv. Mr. Sandeep Pathak, Adv. Mr. Kisalaya Shukla- 3695, AOR Ms. Shruti Mishra, Adv. Ms. Jyotsana Tripathi, Adv. Ms. Kashish Jaiswal, Adv.
For Respondent(s) : Ms. Ankita Sharma- 3833, AOR Mr. Arjun D. Singh, Adv. Ms. Akanksha Kumari, Adv. Ms. Gargi Vishwakarma, Adv.
UPON hearing the counsel the Court made the following
O R D E R
Leave granted. In terms of the signed order, the appeal is allowed, setting aside the impugned order. The appellant, Dilip Pradhan, shall be released on bail in connection with Crime/FIR No. 105/2025 dated 24.05.2025 registered with Police Station – Tamnar, District – Raigarh, Chhattisgarh, for offences punishable under Sections 20(b)(ii)(C) and 29 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 on such appropriate terms and conditions as may be fixed by the Special Court. Pending applications(s), if any, shall stand disposed of. (DEEPAK GUGLANI) (PREETI SAXENA) DEPUTY REGISTRAR COURT MASTER (NSH) (signed order is placed on the file)