P T JOSEPH Vs. STATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE Order of the Court is as follows :- THE petitioners are seeking bail. All the petitions have arisen in this way :- A consignment of 14 packages of leather jackets under bill No. 020-21551592, dated 10-11-1997 by M/s. Sri Ram Leather Exports, No. 99, Dr. Muthulakshmi Road, porur to M/s. Arnado Leathers, Johenasburg , South Africa, through Lufthansa Flight No. LH-0511 scheduled to take off on the night of 13-11-1997 was intercepted by the respondent and on examination, it was found containing 382. 043 Kgs. of Mandrax tablets and 14. 618 Kgs. of white powder in 10 packages. Further investigation led to the discovery of the following facts :- M/s. Sriram Leather Exports is a non-existing company. All the accused entered into a conspiracy to export the Mandrax Tablets which is a psychotropic substance from India to South Africa. An earlier attempt was made during October, 1997 to illegally export the narcotic substances by concealing them in cotton bales, but due to the tight vigilancy the respondent, that cannot be accomplished and the psychotropic substances were kept in the godown of Dart Express. Later, all the accused entered into a conspiracy to export the Mandrax Tablets and white powder from India to South Africa hidden in leather jackets. THE petitioners Vasan, Ganesan, Krishnakumar and Prasanna Kumar procured the leather jackets. THE Mandrax Tablets were removed from the godown of Dart Express to the place of the petitioner P. T. Joseph to the knowledge of the other petitioners. THE psychotropic substances were concealed in 10 packages containing leather jackets. 14 packages of leather jackets were transported by the petitioner Vasan to the Airport through a vehicle. THE packages were unnumbered and when random check-up was taken up by the respondent, and they indicated package number to be brought before them, the accused took up unmarked consignments which did not contain the psychotropic substances and marked the numbers asked by the respondent and produced the same for inspection. A thorough check revealed the enclosures. THE respondent conducted investigation and arrested the petitioner and others and after investigation, filed final report against the petitioners.

(2.) NOW, the petitioners seek bail on the following grounds :- (i) the investigation was over and charge-sheet has been filed; (ii)co-accused Narasimhan was released on bail; (iii) the petitioners had no bad antecedent; (iv) the statements given by the petitioners do not disclose any incriminating circumstance against them; and (v) the white powder was not a psychotropic substance.

(3.) ACCORDING to the petitioners, they were not aware that the tablets are psychotropic substance; that they were under the belief that the tablets were some pills meant to cure heart disease and they were vitality tablets. The case of the prosecution is that each petitioner has played for a specific role in committing the act and that the absconding accused and narasimhan procured the Mandrax Tablets. One of the petitioners transported the psychotropic substance from the godown of Dart Express to the petitioner joseph's house and from there Prasanna Kumar transported the consignment to the airport and the other petitioners were actually witnessing the concealing of the tablets in leather jackets. 7. Inajay Aggarwalv. Union of India, theApex Court has pointed out that an offence of conspiracy is constituted of a number of ingredients. The Apex Court has observed as under :-" An agreement between two or more persons to do an illegal act or legal acts by illegal means is criminal conspiracy. If the agreement is not an agreement to commit an offence, it does not amount to conspiracy unless it is followed up by an overt act done by one or more persons in furtherance of the agreement. The offence is complete as soon as there is meeting of minds and unity of purpose between the conspirators to do that illegal act or a legal act by illegal means. Conspiracy is conceived as having three elements : (1)agreement (2) between two or more persons by whom the agreement is effected; and (3) a criminal object, which may be either the ultimate aim of the agreement, or may constitute the means, or one of the means by which that aim is to be accomplished. It is immaterial whether this is found in the ultimate objects. It is not necessary that each conspirator must know all the details of the scheme nor be a participant at every stage. It is necessary that they should agree for design or object of the conspiracy.