The Supreme Court has laid down guidelines to intensify verification of sureties and other precautions while dealing with cases involving a foreign national accused of Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 (NDPS Act) offences of commercial quantities and against whom bail has been granted on the basis of a fictitious surety, who has since proved to be non-traceable.
The proceeding resulted from the case of the foreign national Chidiebere Kingsley Nawchara, who was charged with the seizure of 4935 grams of heroin. Following the granting of his bail, the Supreme court ordered the stay of bail and directed that steps be taken to ensure his personal appearance. Upon further checks, it emerged that the surety that was provided for the foreign national was not genuine and that the address, plus the employment and banking information, was falsified.
The Court noted that the issue was not limited to the present case, and that there arose a prospect of foreign nationals eluding the process by procuring bail by furnishing false or non-existent sureties, and therefore felt it necessary to lay down guidelines to cover cases of foreign nationals charged with commercial quantity offence under the NDPS Act.
Among other directions, the court ordered that the passport of the accused shall be produced before the jurisdictional court and restrictions may be imposed on his travel outside India. The accused must also register with the Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO) within one week of release on bail and provide the prescribed information to the investigating officer and the concerned Court.
The Court further directed that, ordinarily the accused shall furnish two sureties of like amount and if the accused person proves that getting two sureties is difficult, it shall be at the discretion of the Court to accept only one. The surety's address, identity and financial credibility shall be scrutinized by the concerned authorities before releasing the accused.
The Supreme Court directed that there is a need to have strong institutional mechanisms for verification such as maintenance of a database of foreign nationals accused under the NDPS act, those who have lodged surety and those against whom surety has been lodged. The Court also directs to have digital formats for verification of properties and documents as well as other procedures for verification, and also considers taking departmental action in case of a surety being found to be fictitious despite verification.
The directions were issued in exercise of the Court’s powers under Article 142 of the Constitution and are specifically applicable to foreign nationals accused of offences involving commercial quantities under the NDPS Act. The Court also set out the Professional Bail Bondsperson (Regulation) Rules, 2026 as an annexure to the judgment.
Source:
Case Name: Union of India v. Chidiebere Kingsley Nawchara & Ors.
Dairy Number: 44721/2025
Petition for Special Leave to Appeal (Crl.) No.: 14185/2025
Case Citation: 2026 INSC 870
Date of Judgement: 17 August 2026
Bench: Justice Sanjay Karol and Justice Augustine George Masih