The court denied bail under Section 37 of the NDPS Act due to the petitioner's history of similar offences and role as a financier in drug transportation.

ORDER :

C.V. Karthikeyan, J.

This Petition seeking bail had been filed by A-3 in C.C.No. 187 of 2023 pending before the Principal Special Court for Exclusive Trial of Cases under NDPS Act at Chennai.

2. The respondent had initially registered FIR in Cr.No.114 of 2022 for offences punishable under Sections 8(c), 20(b)(ii)(C), 25 and 29(1) of NDPS Act 1985 on 28.05.2022. The petitioner had been arrayed as an accused on the confession of the first accused. The petitioner had been remanded to custody on 28.12.2022.

3. It is the case of the prosecution that on 28.05.2022 at around4.30 p.m., secret information had been received about transportation of ganja. The information had been entered in the general diary. The respondent then intercepted a mini lorry bearing Registration No. MH. 05- AM-1243 near Arambakkam Police Station, opposite GNT Road, Check Post. The first accused, driver of the vehicle was found in possession of 235 kgs of ganja. He was arrested and remanded to custody. The seized materials were also produced before the Principal Special Court for EC and NDPS Act cases at Chennai. FIR in Crime No. 114 of 2022 had been registered for offences punishable under Sections 8(c), 20(b)(ii)(C), 25 and 29(1) of NDPS Act 1985.

4. It had been stated that the first accused revealed that the contraband was being transported from Andhra Pradesh to Madurai under instructions of the present petitioner, who had been arrayed as A-3. It was then stated that subsequently, the second accused was also arrested. This accused was arrested on 22.12.2022 and remanded to custody.

5. After completion of investigation, final report was filed before the Principal Special Court for EC and NDPS Act cases at Chennai and the same was taken cognizance as C.C.No. 187 of 2023. The case is still pending.

6. It had been further stated that this petitioner was involved in two earlier cases of similar nature. The first case was registered at Keerathur Police Station in Madurai in Crime No. 690 of 2019 for offences punishable under Sections 8(C) read with 20(b)(ii)(B), 25, 29(1) of NDPS Act and the second case was registered in Andhra Pradesh by Prathipadu Police Station in Crime No. 228 of 2022 for offences punishable under Section 8(C) read with 20(b)(ii)(C) of NDPS Act. It had been stated that therefore, the petitioner has previous cases of similar nature against him. The quantity seized is also commercial in nature and it had therefore been contended that bail should be rejected.

7. The learned counsel for the petitioner however pointed out that the second accused had been granted bail by the Hon'ble Supreme Court in SLP (Criminal) No. 4523 of 2024 by order dated 14.08.2024. It had been noted by the Hon'ble Supreme Court that the second accused had been remanded to custody only on the confession of the first accused. The learned counsel therefore stated that this petitioner was also similarly placed like the second accused, as this petitioner was also arrested only on the confession of the first accused and therefore argued that similar relief should be granted to this petitioner.

8. The learned counsel for the petitioner also placed reliance on the order of the Hon'ble Supreme Court in Special Leave to Appeal (Crl.) No. 1266 of 2023 [Vijay Singh Vs. The State of Haryana and others ] wherein by an order dated 17.05.2023, the Hon'ble Supreme Court had granted bail to that petitioner on the ground that the contraband of 1.7 kg of Poppy Straw (Doda Post) was recovered from the co-accused and that the petitioner was not present at the spot but was only named by the accused. It had been observed that there were no other materials to implicate the petitioner ther