Petitioner's claim of personal use for seized narcotics was rejected; court deemed LSD a commercial quantity under NDPS Act, validating the ongoing investigation.

ORDER :

S. VISHWAJITH SHETTY, J.

1. Petitioner is before this Court under Articles 226 and 227 of the Constitution of India read with Section 482 of Cr.P.C. seeking for the following reliefs:-

"1) To issue a Writ of Certiorari or a Writ or Order or Direction of appropriate in nature and Quash the entire proceedings registered in NCB Crime No.NCB/F.No.48/1/02/2024 BZU dated 5/1/2024 on the file of Respondent NCB which is for offences under Sections 8 (c), 20(b)(ii)(A), 22(c), 27 and 28 of the NDPS Act as an abuse of process of law, which is pending on the file of Hon'ble XXXIII Additional City Civil and Sessions Judge and Special Judge for NDPS Cases, Bangalore City which is as per ANNEXURE -'A', 'B', and 'F' & 'F2'.

2) To issue a Writ of Certiorari or a Writ or Order or direction of appropriate in nature and Quash the invocation of Provisions of Sections 2 2(c) and 28 of the NDPS Act and consequently Quash the Arrest Memo as per Annexure - 'F1 and F2' Bearing NCB F. No. 48/ 1/ 02/ 2024/ date 5/1/2024 as illegal and abuse of process of law.

3) To issue a Writ of Certiorari or a Writ or Order or direction of appropriate in nature declaring the arrest of him on 5-1-2024 as per ANNEXRUE - 'F1, and F-2 Bearing NCB F No.48/01/02/2024/BZU dated 5/1/2024 as illegal and consequently order of remand dated 6-1-2024 and 8-1-2024 and his detention in Judicial Custody as per ANNEXURE-'B' order is also illegal and abuse of process of law.

4) To issue a Writ or Order or direction of appropriate in nature granting reasonable amount of compensation for the illegal arrest and detention till now which is contrary to law, in the interest of justice.

5) To issue, a Writ or Order or direction of appropriate in nature granted such other relief or reliefs as this Hon'ble Court deems fit to grant in the facts and circumstances of the case, in the interest of justice."

2. Heard the learned counsel for the parties.

3. Facts leading to filing of this petition briefly narrated are, on 02.01.2024 officers of Narcotics Control Bureau, Bengaluru Zonal Unit, had received credible information that one postal parcel had come to Foreign Post Office, Chamarajpete, Bengaluru, which was suspected to contain narcotic drugs. The Junior Intelligence Officer of NCB prepared the Information Report under Section 42 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 (hereinafter referred to as 'the NDPS Act' for short) and after obtaining necessary permission from higher officer, the officers of NCB along with panchas visited the post office and after collecting the suspected parcel from Post Master opened it. The said parcel contained 10 strips of LSD weighing 0.11 grams and 34.38 grams of ganja gummies. The contraband articles found in the parcel were seized under a panchanama.

4. Parcel was addressed in the name of one Pandu, Flat No.308, O Royal Heritage Apartments, Old Madras Road, Doorvani Nagar, Bengaluru - 560 016. The NCB Officers thereafter arranged for a dummy parcel and the same was arranged to be delivered through a postman to the address found on the parcel. Petitioner who opened the door acknowledged that he was Pandu and collected the dummy drug parcel which was delivered under Controlled Delivery Mechanism. Immediately thereafter, the NCB officers went inside flat No.308 and took custody of the dummy parcel and the person who received the dummy parcel. On enquiry, they found his name was Kalam Narendra @ Pandu. The dummy parcel was also seized under a Mahazar and the NCB officers brought the dummy parcel and the petitioner to their office and thereafter, the Information Report, panchanama and the accused were produced before the jurisdictional Court and the accused was remanded to custody of the Investigation Officer. After interrogation, accused was produced before the Court and thereafter, he was remanded to judicial custody. Challenging the First Information Report, penal provisions invoked and the arrest of the petitioner, this writ petition is fil