The High Court of Kerala rejected the bail application of the fourth accus in an NDPS case involving ganja seizure, dismissing the plea due to statutory injunctions preventing bail release.
Bail application dismissed; statutory injunction under Section 37 of NDPS Act applied.
This page shows the compact analysis of this judgement. The full analysis — procedural history, issue-by-issue holdings with ratio and obiter, advocates, and paragraph-level evidence for every claim — is being added to the record in batches and will appear here when this judgement has been through it.
IN THE HIGH COURT OF KERALA AT ERNAKULAM
PRESENT
THE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE K.HARIPAL FRIDAY, THE 23RD DAY OF JULY 2021 / 1ST SRAVANA, 1943 BAIL APPL. NO. 3385 OF 2021
CRIME NO. 12/2020 OF ETTUMANOOR EXCISE RANGE OFFICE, KOTTAYAM PETITIONER/ACCUSED NO.4:
ANTOS JOSEPH AGED 44 YEARS ARIMBOOR HOUSE, VAZHAPILLIPADINJARU, CHANGANACHERRY TALUK, KOTTAYAM DISTRICT. KOTTAYAM, PIN – 686103
BY ADVS. M.P.MADHAVANKUTTY KUM. K. REMIYA RAMACHANDRAN
RESPONDENT/COMPLAINANT:
STATE OF KERALA REPRESENTED BY PUBLIC PROSECUTOR, HIGH COURT OF KERALA ERNAKULAM, PIN – 682031
BY SRI. SANTHOSH PETER, SENIOR PUBLIC PROSECUTOR
THIS BAIL APPLICATION HAVING COME UP FOR ADMISSION ON 23.07.2021, THE COURT ON THE SAME DAY DELIVERED THE FOLLOWING:
Bail Appl.No.3385 OF 2021 2
ORDER
This is an application filed under Section 439 of the Criminal Procedure Code, by the fourth accused in Crime No. 12/2020 of Excise Range, Ettumannoor. That crime was registered on 23.05.2020, after seizing 62.5 kilograms of ganja from a lorry which was used for transporting text books from Bangalore. The second accused is the driver of the lorry and the first accused is the owner. The second accused was arrested from the spot itself along with the contraband. Accordingly, offence under Sections 8(c), 20(b)(ii)(c), 25 and 29 of the NDPS Act have been invoked against the accused persons.
Bail Appl.No.3385 OF 2021 3
2020 and reside in a place and at that time somebody had used his telephone and that was how his name was incorporated. It was submitted that he is a person having 19% neurological disability; he has no criminal antecedents to his credit; he is in custody for the last 117 days and according to the learned counsel, his further detention is not warranted in the case.
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indicate that there are solid materials to suspect the culpability of the petitioner; his involvement has been traced through telephone records, bank transaction details etc. Even though nothing has been recovered from the constructive possession of the petitioner, the prosecution could gather very valuable pieces of evidence against the petitioner and therefore, his involvement
cannot be suspected at this stage.
The learned Public Prosecutor has opposed the application. At least at this stage, it cannot be thought that he is not guility. Therefore, the statutory injunction under Section 37 of the NDPS
Act is attracted and the petitioner is not entitled to get bail.
The application is dismissed.
Sd/- K.HARIPAL
JUDGE
DCS/28.06.2021
3 issues framed by the court
Whether bail should be granted to the petitioner under Section 439 CrPC considering the statutory injunctions under Section 37 of the NDPS Act.
Whether the telephone records and bank transaction details establish solid material to suspect the culpability of the petitioner.
Whether the petitioner is entitled to bail when the criminal law does not permit it under the NDPS Act.
3 provisions across 2 enactments
ANtos JOSEPH
STATE OF KERALA
K.HARIPAL
As recorded by the court registry
Judgements on the same questions, provisions and authorities, from every court
