Criminal court dismissed an application for anticipatory bail under Section 438 CrPC in a possession and transfer of Ganja case under the NDPS Act. The court denied bail due to material evidence of involvement and the petitioner's criminal antecedents including prior NDPS offences.
Application for anticipatory bail dismissed; petitioner not granted bail.
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IN THE HIGH COURT OF KERALA AT ERNAKULAM
PRESENT
THE HONOURABLE MR.JUSTICE ZIYAD RAHMAN A.A.
WEDNESDAY, THE 19TH DAY OF JULY 2023 / 28TH ASHADHA, 1945
BAIL APPL. NO. 3371 OF 2023 Crime No. 1142/2022 of Alappuzha South Police Station
PETITIONER/ACCUSED:
MANU MOHAN AGED 34 YEARS DEVAWAMKARI CHIRI SANATHANAPURAM, PO, ALAPPUZHA, PIN - 688003
BY ADVS. NIDHEESH P. RAKESH R.
RESPONDENT/STATE AND INVESTIGATING OFFICER:
STATE OF KERALA
REPRESENTED BY THE PUBLIC PROSECUTOR, HIGH COURT OF KERALA, ERNAKULAM, PIN - 682031
OTHER PRESENT:
SR PP SREEJA V
THIS BAIL APPLICATION HAVING COME UP FOR ADMISSION ON
19.07.2023, THE COURT ON THE SAME DAY DELIVERED THE FOLLOWING:
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B.A No. 3371 of 2023
O R D E R
This is an application filed under Section 438 of the Code of Criminal Procedure seeking anticipatory bail.
2 . The petitioner is the 4 th accused in Crime No. 1142/2022 of Alappuzha South Police Station. The offences alleged against the petitioner and the other accused are punishable under Section 20(b) (ii) B read with Section 29 of the NDPS Act.
3 . The said crime was registered, as the 1 st accused, on 15.12.2022, at about 10.45 p.m, was found in possession of 8.125 kg of Ganja, kept in a bag. The 1 st accused was arrested and the contraband articles were seized. During the course of investigation, it was revealed that the petitioner herein was also involved in the said transaction and therefore, he was implicated as the 4 th accused. As the petitioner apprehends arrest in connection with the investigation of the said case, this application for anticipatory bail is submitted.
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B.A No. 3371 of 2023
4 . Heard, Sri. Nidheesh P the learned counsel appearing for the petitioner and Smt. Sreeja V, the learned Public Prosecutor, appearing for the State.
5 . The learned counsel for the petitioner submits that the petitioner is innocent of all the allegations and he was implicated based only on the confession statement of the 1 st accused. It is contended that as the confession statement cannot be treated as an admissible evidence, the implication of the petitioner itself is wrong. The release of the petitioner was sought in such circumstances.
6 . On the other hand, the learned Public Prosecutor opposes the said prayer by pointing out that, besides the confession statement of the 1 st accused, there are other materials in the form of call data records as well. The call details shows that
the petitioner was in frequent contact with the other accused. Besides the same, the petitioner is involved in five other cases. The details of the same are as follows.
2. Crime No.138/2008 U/s 323, 324, 34 IPC
3. Crime No.140/2008 U/s 143, 147, 148, 149, 324, 326, 307 IPC 4. Crime No.218/2008 U/s 392, 394 IPC
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B.A No. 3371 of 2023
5. Crime No.457/2022 U/s 463, 465, 471, 34 IPC, Sec 25 of Arms Act Sec 5 of Explosive Act and 20(b) (ii) A, 21(b), 22(c), 29 NDPS Act.”
In such circumstances, dismissal of the application was sought.
7 . I have gone through the records. It is discernible from
the records that, in addition to the confession statement, there are other materials against the petitioner indicating his involvement. The petitioner also has criminal antecedents and one of the offences is under Section 22 (c) of the NDPS Act.
In such circumstances, when taking note of the materials placed on record and the criminal antecedents of the petitioner, I do not find this as a fit case in which anticipatory bail can be granted to the petitioner. Therefore, I do not find any merit in this application and accordingly, it is dismissed.
Sd/-
ZIYAD RAHMAN A.A
JUDGE
rpk
2 issues framed by the court
Whether anticipatory bail is a fit case to be granted to the accused under Section 438 CrPC given the nature of charges and criminal antecedents.
Whether the petitioner's criminal antecedents under the NDPS Act outweigh the negative circumstances in the case.
2 provisions across 2 enactments
MANU MOHAN
STATE OF KERALA
ZIYAD RAHMAN A.A
As recorded by the court registry
Judgements on the same questions, provisions and authorities, from every court
