ORDER

K.T. Thomas, J.- There is clear cleavage of opinions between two learned Judges of this Court regarding interpretation of certain provisions of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotopic Substances Act, 1985 (for short 'the NDPS Act'). The main questions on which such different interpretations were made by the learned Judges are these:

(1) Whether the High Court can suspend the sentence passed on an accused convicted' of an offence under NDPS Act during pendency of his appeal before the High Court'?

(2) Whether the conditions in Section 37 of the NDPS Act for granting bail have over-riding effect on the proviso to section 167(2) of the Code of Criminal Procedure (for short 'the Code')? .

2. The questions came before Full Bench after some tides and drifts. We shall state briefly the background of how it reached the Full Bench. In Appachan v. Excise Circle Inspector1 Balakrishnan, J. held that Section 37 of the NDPS Act does not override Section 167 of the Code. But correctness of the said decision has been doubted by Ramakrishna, J: in another case and referred it to a division bench. It was in the said case that the two learned Judges took conflicting views. The decision of the divis