SHABNA MANOJ Vs. STATE OF KERALA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Bail Application No.9834/2023 is filed by the 2nd accused, BA 9428/2023 is filed by the 3rd accused and BA 94332/2023 is filed by the 8th accused in Crime No.38/2021 of Excise Range Office, Ernakulam. The petitioners seek regular bail.

(2.) The prosecution allegation is that, on 19/8/2021 at 7.00 p.m. the Excise party conducted a raid at Merhaba Apartment and seized 1.085 kg of MDMA from the south-east corner of the car porch. Hence, crime is registered against the petitioners under Ss. 22(c) and 29 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 (for short 'NDPS Act').

(3.) Learned counsel for the petitioners argue that on 19/8/2021, the very same day on which the present crime is registered, earlier at 1.40 a.m., a raid was alleged to have been conducted inside the same apartment and crime 36/2021 was registered initially against five accused for the possession of 83.896 grams of MDMA. Later, it seems that 25 persons were made accused in that crime. It is from the same premises that the MDMA is said to have been recovered by about 19 hours by the same officer who earlier registered crime No.36/2021. Petitioners therefore alleged that the second crime was nothing but a fabrication by the Excise department. It is also argued that though a charge sheet was submitted on 15/10/2022, the case has not yet been numbered. The petitioners' application for statutory bail was rejected. The learned counsel for the petitioners also reiterated the submissions made by the counsel in BA 9834/2023 and submitted that there is no antecedent except crime 36/2021.