Panaji: The Bombay high court on Wednesday set aside a judicial magistrate first class (JMFC) order granting bail to Israeli national David Driham, alias Dudu, on the day of his arrest in a cocaine seizure case last year. However, considering that he has remained on bail for over a year and has cooperated with the investigation, the court allowed him to continue on bail under stricter conditions.The narcotics control bureau (NCB) registered a case against Dudu under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act on June 3, 2025, after allegedly seizing 11.2g of cocaine from him. He was arrested the following day, and the JMFC granted him bail the same day, holding that the investigating agency had failed to furnish him with a copy of the grounds of arrest.Justice Neela Gokhale held that the magistrate had failed to consider the relevant provisions of the NDPS Act and applicable Supreme Court judgments while granting bail. The court also noted that the bail order imposed no conditions.The HC further found it unusual that the magistrate had written directly to the police inspector directing Driham’s immediate release. On these grounds, it set aside the JMFC’s bail order.However, the court observed that Driham had been served with a notice under Section 67 of the NDPS Act informing him that he was implicated in the case and had also received the arrest memo.Taking into account that Driham has been cooperating with the investigation and has regularly attended trial proceedings since his release in June 2025, the HC permitted him to remain on bail, subject to stringent conditions. He has been directed to execute a bond of Rs 20,000 with local sureties, surrender his passport, refrain from travelling abroad without prior court permission, remain present for all trial proceedings, and not influence witnesses or tamper with evidence.
