S. Mugilarasan vs State Of Tamil Nadu

P. Dhanabal, J

The petitioner/A8, who was arrested and remanded to judicial custody on 18.03.2025 for the offences punishable under Sections 8(C), 20(b)(ii)(C), 29(1) and 25 of NDPS Act, in Crime No.403 of 2024 on the file of the respondent police, seeks bail.

The case of the prosecution is that on 27.09.2024 at about 17.45 hours, based on the secret information, the police officials went to the place of occurrence and found that the petitioner and other accused persons were in possession of 23.910 kgs of Ganja in a car. Hence, the respondent police registered a case against the accused for the aforesaid offences and arrested them.

The learned counsel for the petitioner would submit that the petitioner is an innocent and he was falsely implicated in this case and he is no way connected in the above said incident. He would further submit that no contraband was recovered from the petitioner and based on the confession of the co-accused, he has been implicated in this case. He would further submit that the co-accused were arrested and released on bail. The petitioner has been arrested and remanded to judicial custody on 18.03.2025. Hence, he prays to grant bail to the petitioner.

The learned Government Advocate (Crl. Side) appearing for the respondent Police would submit that the petitioner has one previous case. He would further submit that the investigation has been completed and final report has also been filed and the same was taken on file in C.C.No. 131 of 2025 by the learned Special Court for Essential Commodities Act Court at Madurai (Additional District Judge for NDPS Act, Madurai). He would further submit that though no contraband was recovered from the petitioner, he received money from the other accused. Hence, he strongly opposed to grant bail to the petitioner.

This Court heard both sides and perused the materials available on record.

Considering the rival submissions made by the learned counsel on either side, quantity of the material involved in this case and considering the fact that though the contraband involved in this case is a commercial quantity, the same was recovered from A1 to A5 and the petitioner was arrayed as accused only based on the confession of the co-accused and no contraband was recovered from this petitioner and the allegation against the petitioner is that he received money from the other accused and the veracity of such statement can be tested only during the trial and the co-accused were already arrested and released on bail and though the petitioner has one previous case, he was released on bail and also considering the period of incarceration undergone by the petitioner from 18.03.2025, this Court is inclined to grant bail to the petitioner subject to the following conditions:

[a] Accordingly, the petitioner is ordered to be released on bail on condition to execute a bond for a sum of Rs.10,000/- (Rupees Ten Thousand only) with two sureties each for a like sum to the satisfaction of the learned Additional District and Sessions Judge, Presiding Officer, Special Court for E.C and NDPS Act Cases, Madurai, and on further conditions that:

[b] the petitioner shall report before the learned Additional District and Sessions Judge, Presiding Officer, Special Court for E.C and NDPS Act Cases, Madurai, on all working days at 10.30 a.m.,until further orders.

[c] the petitioner shall not commit any offence similar to the offence of which she is accused, or suspected, or of the commission of which she is suspected;

[d] the petitioner shall not abscond either during investigation or trial;

[e] the petitioner shall not directly or indirectly make any inducement, threat or promise to any person acquainted with the facts of the case so as to dissuade her from disclosing such facts to the Court or to any police officer or tamper with the evidence;

[f] On breach of any of the aforesaid conditions, the learned Judicial Magistrate/Trial Court is entitled to take appropriate action against the petitioner in accordance with law as if the conditions have been imposed and the petitioner released on bail by the learned Magistrate/Trial Court himself as laid down by the Hon'ble Supreme Court in P.K.Shaji vs. State of Kerala [(2005)AIR SCW 5560].

[g] If the accused thereafter absconds, a fresh FIR can be registered under Section 269 BNS.