Kodi Ajay Kumar vs State Rep By The Public Prosecutor
2022 Latest Caselaw 4685 AP

Citation : 2022 Latest Caselaw 4685 AP
Judgement Date : 27 July, 2022

Andhra Pradesh High Court - Amravati

Kodi Ajay Kumar vs State Rep By The Public Prosecutor on 27 July, 2022

     THE HONOURABLE SRI JUSTICE RAVI CHEEMALAPATI

               CRIMINAL PETITION NO.5357 OF 2022

ORDER:-

       This petition under Sections 437 & 439 of Criminal Procedure

Code    ('Cr.P.C.'    in   short),   seeking     regular     bail,   by    the

petitioners/Accused No.4 in Crime No.93 of 2020 of Addategala

Police Station, Rajahmahendravaram registered for the offence

punishable under Section 8 (c) r/w 20 (b) (ii) (c) of Narcotic Drugs

and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985.


2.     The case of prosecution is that, the on 20.06.2020 on receipt

of information through Forest Range Officer, Addateegala, the S.I

of police, Addateegala, his staff, Tahsildar of Addateegala and

mediator reached the Forest Check post, Gonthuvanipalem and

found 140 kgs of Ganja in an Eicher van bearing No.TN 59 AS 2796

and also one mobile phone and seized the same. Hence, the

present crime was registered under cover of mediators report.


       On 20.04.2022, A2 and A4 were arrested and they were sent

to judicial custody on 21.04.2022.


3.     Heard    Sri   G.Maheswara     Rao,     learned     counsel   for   the

petitioner and Sri Soora Venkata Sainath, learned Special Assistant

Public Prosecutor for the respondent-State.

4. Learned counsel for the petitioner, in elaboration, contended

that, the petitioner/accused No. 4 never involved in this case and

also in any crime earlier. He is attending daily wage labour work

and maintaining his respective family with his meager income. It is

further contended that the petitioner is no way concerned with the

offence and he is falsely implicated in the crime.

On the above contentions, the learned counsel for the

petitioner sought for grant of regular bail to the petitioner.

5. Learned Special Assistant Public Prosecutor opposed the

petition and would contend that the previous application of the

petitioner was dismissed on the ground that the petitioner was

involved in other similar cases. The same was also taken due note

by the trial Court while dismissing the application of the

petitioner/A4 in Crl.M.P.No.1028 of 2022 vide order dated

24.06.2022 which reads as follows:

"The previous bail application was dismissed as the petitioner/A4 was also involved in Crime registered in Kotananduru Police Station on 17.01.2018 for illegal transportation of Ganja and in view of the bar under Section 37 of the Act. As can be seen from the investigation findings mentioned in the case diary, the petitioner/A4 was involved in Ganja case registered in Kotananduru Police Station and further his involvement in procuring 140 kgs of Ganja along with the other accused for doing business is also prima facie found".

6. Learned Special Assistant Public Prosecutor draw the

attention of this Court to the judgment of Hon'ble Supreme

Court in Narcotics Control Bureau vs. Mohit Aggarwal in

criminal Appeal Nos.1001-1002 of 2022 dated 19th July, 2022 to

para No.18 which reads as follows:

"In our opinion the narrow parameters of bail available under Section 37 of the Act, have not been satisfied in the facts of

the instant case. At this stage, it is not safe to conclude that the respondent has successfully demonstrated that there are reasonable grounds to believe that he is not guilty of the offence alleged against him, for him to have been admitted to bail. The length of the period of his custody or the fact that the charge-sheet has been filed and the trial has commenced are by themselves not considerations that can be treated as persuasive grounds for granting relief to the respondent under Section 37 of the NDPS Act."

7. In the case on hand, the petitioner is involved in other crimes

which are registered for similar offences and it shows that

petitioner is habitual offender. Therefore, there is force in the

contention of the learned Special Additional Public Prosecutor that

there is likelihood of the petitioner perpetuating the similar offence,

if he is extended the benefit of bail.

7. Taking into consideration the facts of the case and the

contentions of the both learned counsel and material available on

record and keeping in view the prior antecedents of the accused

and the possibility of repeating similar or other offences while on

bail and apart from that the quantity involved in the present crime

is 140 kgs of Ganja is a commercial quantity, this Court feels that