Joseph Prince Amaresh vs State Of Kerala

Mohammed Nias C.P., J

This application is filed under Section 439 of the Code of Criminal Procedure seeking regular bail. The petitioner is the 2nd accused in Crime No. 756/2022 of Mattancherry Police Station, Ernakulam district, registered for having committed offences punishable under Sections 22(c) & 29 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act (The NDPS Act), which is now pending as S.C.No.276/2023 on the file of the Addl.District & Sessions Court-VIII, Ernakulam.

The prosecution case is that, on 29.9.2022 at about 11.40 P.M., the 1st accused was found in possession of 493 grams of MDMA near Chullikkal Pump Junction, Thoppumpadi. The allegation against the 2nd accused is that he has some illicit financial transactions with the 1st accused in the above crime. The 1st accused transferred some cash to the petitioner, and the petitioner transferred the same to the 5th accused. The petitioner's bank account was used by the 5th accused for illegal drug business. Thus, the petitioner herein/2nd accused is alleged to have committed the above offences.

The learned counsel appearing for the petitioner would submit that the petitioner is totally innocent and has been falsely implicated with ulterior motives. At any rate, he points out that the petitioner has been in custody since 9.10.2022, and the continued custody of the petitioner is unnecessary.

The learned Public Prosecutor opposed the petition.

I have gone through the records. The specific case of the prosecution appears to be that the amount for the purchase of the contraband article was being transferred to the 4th accused, who is the brother of the 3rd accused through the account of the 3rd petitioner. When the nature of the accusation is that the 4th accused got the amount transferred through the account of the 3rd accused, I am of the opinion that the contention put forth, in this case, has considerable weight as regards the possibility of the petitioner not being consciously involved in the transactions. It is also to be noted that the petitioner has no antecedents and that he has been in custody since 9.10.2022. Thus, from the materials placed on record, I am of the view that the aforesaid aspects are sufficient for recording the satisfaction of the twin conditions stipulated under Section 37 of the NDPS Act. This is mainly because, the police have no case that the petitioner has involved in any other case of similar nature. It is also to be noted that A-3, against whom similar allegations were made, was granted bail by this Court in B.A.No.9881/2022 dated 13.7.2023. In such circumstances, taking into account the period of detention the petitioner has undergone and the other aspects referred above, I do not find the necessity of further incarceration of the petitioner. In the result, this bail application is allowed, subject to the following conditions:

i. The petitioner shall be released on bail on executing a bond for Rs.1,00,000/- (Rupees One Lakh only) with two solvent sureties each for the like sum to the satisfaction of the jurisdictional Court.

ii. The petitioner shall fully co-operate with the investigation.

iii.The petitioner shall appear before the Investigating Officer between 10.00 A.M and 11.00 A.M on every Wednesday until the filing of final report.

iv.The petitioner shall appear before the Investigating Officer as and when required.

v. The petitioner shall not commit any offence of like nature while on bail.

vi.The petitioner shall not make any attempt to contact any of the prosecution witnesses, directly or through any other person, or in any other way try to tamper with the evidence or influence any witnesses or other person related to the investigation.

vii.The petitioner shall not leave India without the permission of the jurisdictional court.

viii.The petitioner shall surrender his Passport before the Jurisdictional court and in case he does not have a Passport, an affidavit to that effect shall be filed.

In case of violation of any of the above conditions, the jurisdictional Court shall be empowered to consider the application for cancellation of bail, if any, and pass appropriate orders in accordance with the law.