Kerala High Court
Kuruppu Swamy vs State Of Kerala on 11 June, 2021
Author: Ashok Menon
Bench: Ashok Menon
IN THE HIGH COURT OF KERALA AT ERNAKULAM
PRESENT
THE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE ASHOK MENON
FRIDAY, THE 11TH DAY OF JUNE 2021 / 21ST JYAISHTA, 1943
BAIL APPL. NO. 4431 OF 2021
CRIME NO.14/2020 OF ANGAL EXCISE RANGE OFFICE, Kollam
AGAINST THE ORDER/JUDGMENT IN SC 1156/2020 OF ADDITIONAL DISTRICT
COURT & SESSIONS COURT - V, KOLLAM, KOLLAM
PETITIONER/S:
KURUPPU SWAMY
AGED 40 YEARS
S/O.MURUGAN, RESIDING AT 9 OF 6, GURUSWAMY STREET, KC
ROAD, SHENKOTTA VILLAGE, SHENKOTTA TALUK, TAMILNADU,
PIN - 627 809.
BY ADVS.
SIVAJI B.S.
DHANYA SREENIVASAN
RESPONDENT/S:
STATE OF KERALA,
REPRESENTED BY THE PUBLIC PROSECUTOR, HIGH COURT OF
KERALA, ERNAKULAM.
SRI.E.C.BINEESH-PP
THIS BAIL APPLICATION HAVING COME UP FOR ADMISSION ON 11.06.2021, THE
COURT ON THE SAME DAY DELIVERED THE FOLLOWING:
BAIL APPL. NO. 4431 OF 2021 2
O R D E R
Dated this the 11th day of June 2021 Application for regular bail under Section 439 of Cr.P.C. This is the fourth application for bail filed by the applicant who is alleged to have committed an offence punishable under Section 22(c) r/w Section 29 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 (NDPS Act 'for short).
2. The prosecution case, in brief, is that on 13.02.2020, the officials at Aryankavu Excise Check Post intercepted a lorry bearing registration No. TN 92/C/3736 driven by the 1st accused. On examination of the vehicle, 864 capsules of Spasmo proxyvon, a Psychotropic Substances was seized from the possession of the 1st accused. He was arrested and the crime was registered. The 1st accused gave a statement to the effect that he had got the said articles from the applicant, who is allegedly conducting a shop in Tamil Nadu. The applicant had approached this Court taken all possible grounds including the fact that he cannot be implicated solely on the basis of the confession statement of the 1st accused. This court has answered all those facts.
BAIL APPL. NO. 4431 OF 2021 3
3. The learned counsel now argues that the contraband which was seized is a mixture of drugs including paracetamol and therefore the exact quantity of the narcotic drug tramadol is to be identified before he is convicted and so it is not a commercial quantity. The earlier decision of the Apex Court in E Micheal Raj v. Intelligence officer, Narcotic Control Bureau [2008 (2) KHC 323] was overruled by a later decision of the Apex Court in Heera Singh and another v. Union of India and another [2020 (2) KHC 551], wherein it has been established that the total quantity of the mixture will have to be considered to arrive at a conclusion that whether the quantity involved is commercial or not. In view of this fact, the embargo under Section 37(1) (b) (ii) of the NDPS Act is applicable. There are no grounds to hold that the applicant is not guilty.
4. Even though a subsequent application for bail can be filed, it can only be done on change of circumstances as is held in the decision Kalyan Chandra Sarkar v. Rajesh Rajan [2004 KHC 754]. Hence the application for bail cannot be entertained and I am sure that the trial court would dispose of the matter as BAIL APPL. NO. 4431 OF 2021 4 expeditiously as possible and the fact that the applicant has been in custody for a fairly long time is also not a reason to grant him bail.
The bail application is therefore dismissed.
SD/-
ASHOK MENON JUDGE rmm