Rahul vs State Of Kerala

Ziyad Rahman A.A., J

This application is filed u/s 439 of the Code of Criminal Procedure seeking regular bail.

The petitioner is the 2nd accused in Crime No.20 of 2023 of Excise Range, Varappuzha. Offences alleged against the petitioner and other accused are punishable under Sections 22(b), 22(b)(ii)(A), 25 and 29 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985.

The prosecution case is that on 11.05.2023 at about 10.30 PM, the petitioner and the 1st accused were found in possession of 6.4 grams of MDMA and 2.5 grams of Ganja at Muppathadam and thereby committed the offence. Petitioner was arrested on the same day and since then, he has been under judicial detention. This application for regular bail is submitted in such circumstances. The learned counsel for the petitioner submits that the petitioner is totally innocent of all the allegations raised against him. According to him, he was falsely implicated in the said case consequent to a dispute with some of the Excise officials. The petitioner submits that he is prepared to abide by any condition that may be imposed by this Court. It is also pointed out that the 1st accused is already granted bail by the learned Sessions Judge as per an order dated 16.06.2023.

Heard Smt. Sai Pooja learned counsel for the petitioner and Smt.Sreeja V., learned Public Prosecutor for the State.

The learned Public Prosecutor opposed the aforesaid application by pointing out that there are allegations against the petitioner and the matter is under investigation.

After perusing the records, it is seen that even though there are certain allegations against the petitioner, it is a fact that the petitioner has been in custody since 11.05.2023. The quantity recovered from the petitioner and the other accused comes within the classification of intermediate quantity. No criminal antecedents of the petitioner are brought to my notice. Since it is not a commercial quantity, stringent conditions under Section 37 of the NDPS Act for bail would not come into play. The other accused is already granted bail as well.

In such circumstances, taking note of the period of detention the petitioner had already undergone, and other relevant aspects, I deem it appropriate to allow this application. Accordingly, it is ordered that the petitioner is directed to be released on bail 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 for the like sum each to the satisfaction of the jurisdictional Court.

(ii) The petitioner shall fully cooperate with the investigation.

(iii) The petitioner shall appear before the investigating officer between 10.00 a.m and 11.00 a.m on every Monday until the filing of the final report.

(iv) The petitioner shall also appear before the investigating officer as and when required by him.

(v) The petitioner shall not commit any offence of similar 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 persons related to the investigation.

(vii) The petitioner shall not leave State of Kerala without the permission of the trial Court.

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.