Dismissed¶14

Zainab Ahmad @ Anne Marie Mendy v. Narcotics Control Bureau

Delhi HC8 Oct 2025BAIL APPLN./3809/2025

Case brief

AI extract

What is this about?

Keywords: repeat/successive bail application rejected; no material change in circumstances; earlier application dismissed as withdrawn 29.04.2025 with liberty to refile only if trial not concluded within one year; change of lawyer/counsel not a ground for rehearing merits; trial-progress yardstick (witnesses examined; 6-8 months to conclusion); NDPS bail Delhi High Court; NCB DZU case VIII/30/DZU/2022 Sections 21/23/29; petitioner Zainab Ahmad @ Anne Marie Mendy; judge Amit Mahajan; precedent relied on: Kalyan Chandra Sarkar v. Rajesh Ranjan, (2005) 2 SCC 42.

What did the court decide?

It is common knowledge that Courts not inclined to admit an accused on bail give them liberty to withdraw the bail application and file afresh after a change in circumstances. ¶9

Zainab Ahmad @ Anne Marie Mendy Vs Narcotics Control Bureau — Narcotics (NDPS) | Delhi HC (2025)

What the court decided

AI extract

Outcome

Dismissed

¶14

Issue for consideration

Whether the applicant — who submitted that she had already undergone three and a half years in custody and was entitled to release on bail, and whose co-accused had been granted bail by the Trial Court on 18.09.2024 — should now be released on regular bail. +2 more

¶6

Court's answer

Undisputedly, the co-accused was already on bail when the application filed by the applicant was considered by this Court and disposed of by order dated 29.04.2025.

¶8

Ratio / Principle

It is common knowledge that Courts not inclined to admit an accused on bail give them liberty to withdraw the bail application and file afresh after a change in circumstances.

¶9

Key takeaways

Not even six months had elapsed and yet a fresh bail application had been filed, notwithstanding that the liberty earlier granted was expressly to apply afresh only in case the trial is not concluded within a period of one year.ratio¶4
This Court did not consider it apposite to hear arguments on merits only for the reason that the counsel has been changed and some grounds were not taken on the earlier occasion.ratio¶13
Entertaining such an application would lead to endless numbers of applications being filed, with a different lawyer filing on every occasion and taking a different ground; the application was accordingly dismissed.

Detailed headnote1 paragraphs

Delhi High Court (Amit Mahajan, J., order dated 08.10.2025) dismissed repeat bail application BAIL APPLN. 3809/2025 (applicant Zainab Ahmad @ Anne Marie Mendy; NDPS case No.VIII/30/DZU/2022, PS Narcotics Control Bureau, Sections 21/23/29 NDPS Act) without hearing merits. Filed under six months after the applicant's earlier application was dismissed as withdrawn on 29.04.2025 with liberty expressly limited to refiling if the trial were not concluded within one year; change of counsel and grounds not taken earlier were deemed insufficient reason to entertain it. Four witnesses had already been examined and the trial was indicated capable of concluding in the next 6-8 months; the co-accused's bail (order dated 18.09.2024) predated the earlier disposal and afforded no new ground. Reliance placed on Kalyan Chandra Sarkar v. Rajesh Ranjan and Another, (2005) 2 SCC 42 (Apex Court deprecating repeated applications without material change in circumstances). Application dismissed; no bail granted.

¶1

$~74

¶2

IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI

¶3

- BAIL APPLN. 3809/2025 & CRL.M.A. 29739/2025, CRL.M.A. 29740/2025 ZAINAB AHMAD @ ANNE MARIE MENDY

¶4

.....Petitioner Through: Mr. Aditya Aggarwal & Mr. Naveen Panwar, Advs.

¶5

versus

¶6

NARCOTICS CONTROL BUREAU .....Respondent Through: Mr. Arun Khatri, SSC, NCB with Ms. Shelly Dixit, Ms. Tracy Sebastian, Ms. Poonam Rani & Ms. Priyanka, Advs.

¶7

CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE AMIT MAHAJAN O R D E R

¶8

% 08.10.2025 1. The present application is filed by the applicant seeking regular bail in case No.VIII/30/DZU/2022, registered at Police Station Narcotics Control Bureau for offences under Sections 21/23/29 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 (‘ NDPS Act ’).

¶9

It is pertinent to note that an application filed by the applicant on an earlier occasion was dismissed as withdrawn by order dated 29.04.2025, wherein, this Court had noted the submissions of the counsel for the applicant that he would be satisfied if the trial is expedited and liberty is granted him to file a fresh bail application in case the trial is not completed within a reasonable period of time.

¶10

BAIL APPLN. 3809/2025

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Page 1 of 3

¶12

This is a digitally signed order.

¶13

The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 13/10/2025 at 11:59:07

¶14

This Court, thus, had requested the learned Trial Court to expedite the recording of evidence and had granted the liberty to the applicant to file a fresh bail application in case the trial is not concluded within a period of one year.

¶15

Not even six months have elapsed and a fresh bail application has been filed. 5. Learned counsel for the applicant submits that the learned counsel who had been representing the applicant on earlier occasion had not apprised this Court of the full facts.

¶16

He submits that the applicant had already undergone three and half years in custody and is entitled to be released on bail.

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He further submits that the co-accused has already been granted bail by the learned Trial Court by order dated 18.09.2024.

¶18

Undisputedly the co-accused was already on bail when the application filed by the applicant was considered by this Court and disposed of by order dated 29.04.2025.

¶19

It is common knowledge that the Courts when are not inclined to admit the accused on bail, gives liberty to them to withdraw the bail applications and file afresh after change in circumstances.

¶20

As noted above, the bail application filed on an earlier occasion was dismissed not too long ago on 29.04.2025 and liberty was given to file a bail application afresh if the trial is not concluded within a period of one year.

¶21

On being asked, it is informed that four witnesses have already been examined. Thus, it cannot be said that the trial has been unduly delayed. There is a possibility of trial being

¶22

BAIL APPLN. 3809/2025

¶23

Page 2 of 3

¶24

This is a digitally signed order. The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 13/10/2025 at 11:59:07

¶25

concluded in next 6 to 8 months.

¶26

The Hon’ble Apex Court has time and again deprecated the practice of filing repeated bail applications without any material change in circumstances [ Ref. Kalyan Chandra Sarkar v. Rajesh Ranjan and Another : (2005) 2 SCC 42].

¶27

In view of the above, this Court does not consider it apposite to hear the arguments on merits only for the reason that the counsel has been changed and some grounds were not taken on an earlier occasion.

¶28

Entertaining such application will lead to a situation where endless number of applications will be filed with a different lawyer filing on every occasion taking a different ground. The application is, therefore, dismissed.

¶29

AMIT MAHAJAN, J

¶30

OCTOBER 8, 2025 “SK”

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Page 3 of 3

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BAIL APPLN. 3809/2025

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Zainab Ahmad @ Anne Marie Mendy v. Narcotics Control Bureau

Case brief

What is this about?

What did the court decide?

Zainab Ahmad @ Anne Marie Mendy v. Narcotics Control Bureau

Case brief

What is this about?

What did the court decide?

What the court decided

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Cases cited

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