Before a person accused of an offense punishable under the TADA Act can be released on bail, two conditions must be fulfilled:

1. The Public Prosecutor must be given an opportunity to oppose the application for release.
2. The court must be satisfied that there are reasonable grounds to believe that the accused is not guilty of such an offense.

In light of the aforementioned conditions, it cannot be disputed that an application for bail on behalf of a person accused under the Act must be examined carefully and cautiously based on the charges leveled in the First Information Report and the evidence collected during the investigation.

The police report submitted after the investigation of the alleged offense is not merely an expression of the investigating officer's opinion; it has a connection to the materials collected during the investigation. The conditions for the grant of bail specified under subsection (8) of Section 20 of the TADA Act are in addition to those under the Code.

This position is made explicit by subsection (9) of Section 20 of the TADA Act. The designated Court should have reviewed the charge sheet/police report submitted after the conclusion of the investigation before passing the impugned order. Accordingly, the court's order releasing the respondent on bail is set aside.

The court must exercise its discretion judiciously; anticipatory bail cannot be denied merely on the basis of allegations of cheating and forgery. The High Court cannot ignore the plea that the dispute between the accused and the complainant was purely of a civil nature and that the complainant had filed a suit for specific performance.

To enable a complete investigation, the charge sheet should not be filed piecemeal. It should include all documents and reports, including those from the chemical examiner or the forensic laboratory.