STATE BY (NCB) BENGALURU Vs. PALLULABID AHMAD ARIMUTTA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) As the facts of the present petitions are intertwined, having arisen from two connected cases registered as NCB Case FN No. 48/01/03/2019/BZU and NCB Case FN No. 48/01/07/2019/BZU, it is proposed to dispose them by a common order. The petitioner-Narcotic Control Bureau, Bengaluru Zonal Unit 1, is aggrieved by an order dtd. 16/9/2019 passed in Criminal Leave Petition No. 4462/2019 (subject matter of SLP(Crl.) Diary No. 22702/2020), order dtd. 14/1/2020 passed in Criminal Leave Petition No. 8603/2019 (subject matter of SLP (Crl.) No. 1454/2021), order dtd. 16/1/2020 passed in Criminal Petition No. 7861/2019 (subject matter of SLP (Crl.) No. 1465/2021), order dtd. 19/12/2019 passed in Criminal Petition No. 7624/2019 c/w Criminal Petition No. 6609/2019 (subject matter of SLP (Crl.) Nos. 1773-1774/2021), order dtd. 8/1/2020 passed in Criminal Petition No. 7714/2019 (subject matter of SLP (Crl.) No. 1569/2021) and order dtd. 20/1/2020 passed in Criminal Petition No. 7897/2019 (subject matter of SLP (Crl.) No. 2080/2021). By the aforesaid orders, the High Court of Karnataka has released the respondents on bail for the offences punishable under Ss. 8(c), 8A read with Ss. 20(b), 21, 22, 27A, 27B, 28 and 29 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 2, as the case may be.

(2.) The facts leading to registering of the aforesaid cases against the respondents are that on 22/3/2019, the petitioner-NCB had received information that two persons i.e., Nausheer Mohammed [A-1] and Noushad Mannakkamvalli [A-2] were going to carry drugs and travel to Doha by Oman Airways from Bengaluru International Airport. Immediately on receiving such information, a team of NCB officers arrived at the airport and on searching the luggage of A-1 and A-2, seized 4.525 Kgs of Hashish, 965 Grams of Amphetamine and 30 Grams of Cocaine. Both the respondents in SLP(Crl) @ Diary No. 22702/2020 i.e. Pallulabid Ahamad Arimutta and Mohammed Majid Saleem were arraigned as Accused Nos. 3 and 4 in NCB Case FN No. 48/01/03/2019/BZU 3 and arrested for the offences stated above. Similarly, Mohammed Afzal [A-6], respondent in SLP (Crl.) No. 1454/2021 was arrested on an allegation that his Call details record 4 revealed that he was in constant conversation with A-2 and one Abu Thahir @ Abdu [A-5]. Additionally, reliance was placed by the Department on the statement of A-5 recorded under Sec. 67 of the NDPS Act which purportedly revealed that both of them had arranged the drugs that were delivered to A-1 and A-2 on 22/3/2019, who were going to carry the same in their luggage while flying to Doha.

(3.) Munees Kavil Paramabath [A-8], respondent in SLP (Crl.) No. 1454/2021 was purportedly found to be in conversation with A-2, A-6, A-7 and A-8 as per the CDR of A-5 on the date of the seizure. The petitioner-NCB claims that apart from the statement of A-5 recorded under Sec. 67 of the NDPS Act, he had also voluntarily stated during his examination that he was paid money by A-8 for financing the drugs. Abu Thahir @ Abdu [A-5] and Sabir Bayan [A-7], respondents in SP (Crl.) No. 1773-1774/2021 were similarly arrested on the statement of the co-accused, namely, A-2, A-6 and A-8 and on an allegation that flight tickets of A-1 were recovered from the house of A-5 and A-6.