The single judge bench of the Andhra Pradesh High Court refused to grant bail to the Accused person involved in the offense punishable under Sections 8(c) read with 20(b)(ii)(c) of the NDPS Act. punishable under Sections 8(c) read with 20(b)(ii)(c) of the NDPS Act while holding that where narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances are involved, the Accused would indulge in activities that are lethal to the society.
Brief facts
The factual matrix of the case is that the Superintendent of Customs Preventive Commissionerate received information that the Petitioners were coming in a silver car from Visakhapatnam. Thereafter, they questioned A1 and A2 and after that took them into their custody at 3.00 pm on the same day. On the search of the car, the official recovered Ganja. The case was registered against the petitioners for the offense punishable under Sections 8(c) read with 20(b)(ii)(c) of the NDPS Act. The present petition is filed by the Petitioner seeking regular bail.
Contentions of the Petitioner
The Petitioner submitted that they had been falsely implicated in the present case. It was furthermore submitted that the Petitioner was not involved in any ganja-related cases in the past and pleaded not guilty to the offense. Also, the Petitioner submitted that it will not come under the purview of the NDPS Act as the material seized by the Respondent was dry brown leafy substance not accompanied by flowering or fruiting tops. At last, it was submitted that the Respondent authorities didn’t follow the procedure laid down under section 42(ii) of NDPS Act.
Observations of the court
The court observed that the contentions raised by the Petitioner that the mandatory procedure was not followed, the same is required to be raised and considered only at the stage of trial.
It was furthermore observed that at this point in the case, the only thing that has to be determined is whether or not the petitioners will be found guilty based on the credibility of the evidence provided by the prosecution's witnesses. This Court cannot at this point declare that the accused is not guilty of the offence if the allegations made are established.
The court noted that the Accused would engage in activities that are fatal to society when narcotic narcotics and psychotropic substances are involved.
Based on these considerations, the court was of the opinion that no grounds exist to enlarge the Petitioner on bail.
The decision of the court
With the above direction, the court dismissed the Petition.
Case Title: Ramesh Nath and Others V. The State Of Andhra Pradesh The State Of Andhra Pradesh
Coram: Hon’ble Mr. Justice T Mallikarjuna Rao
Case No.: CRIMINAL PETITION NO: 556/2024
Advocate for the Petitioner: G KUMAR YADDLAPALLI
Advocate for the State: SURESH KUMAR ROUTHU
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