ANIS Vs. STATE OF KARNATAKA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This petition is filed by the sole accused under Sec. 439 of The Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (hereinafter referred to as the 'Cr.P.C., for brevity) seeking bail in Crime No. 63/2022 of CEN Crime Belagavi City Police Station, registered for the offences punishable under Sec. 20(b)(ii)(B) of Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 (hereinafter referred to as the 'NDPS Act', for brevity).

(2.) The case of the prosecution is that, one Sri. Ningangouda A. Patil, Police Inspector, CEN Police Station, Belagavi has received credible information that one person near the old vegetable market with yellow red colour bag containing ganja and he is wearing a black shirt, blue jeans and the said inspector intimated the same to his higher authorities and secured his staff, Panchas, Assistant Drug Controller as a gazetted officer, weighing scale, etc., and proceeded in Government vehicle and went near vegetable market at 13:10 hours and kept watch in a vegetable shop and found one person of the same description who was standing in suspicious manner holding yellow red colour bag and they conducted the raid and caught hold him at 13:15 hours and he described his name and address and further discloses that he kept ganja in his bag. With his consent they searched the bag in the presence of the gazetted officer and found 1.5 kg ganja, containing ganja leaves, flowers, seeds and stems worth Rs.30,000.00 and they took up samples and seized them under Mahazar and arrested the said person and he is in judicial custody. The petitioner/accused filed Crl.Misc. No. 925/2022 seeking bail and the same came to be rejected by the learned II Additional District and Sessions Judge, Belagavi by order dtd. 11/7/2022. Therefore, the petitioner is before this Court seeking bail.

(3.) Heard the arguments of the learned counsel appearing for the petitioner and the learned High Court Government Pleader for the respondent-State.