O R D E R

The Criminal Revision Case has been filed against the order dated

24.10.2019 passed in Crl.M.P.No.1720/2019 in C.C.No.7 of 2019 on the file of the Special Judge, I Additional Special Court for Exclusive trial of cases under NDPS Act, Chennai and to discharge the petitioner/accused No.2 in C.C.No.7 of 2019 on the file of the Special Judge, I Additional Special Court for Exclusive Trial of cases under NDPS Act, Chennai.

2.The respondent registered a case against the petitioner and another for the offence under Section 8(c) r/w Sections 20(B)(II)(C), 28 and 29 of 'the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985' [hereinafter 'NDPS Act' for the sake of convenience]. After investigation, the respondent laid a charge sheet before the learned Special Judge, I Additional Special Court for Exclusive trial of cases under NDPS Act, Chennai. The learned Special Judge, has taken the case on file in C.C.No.7 of 2019. During pendency of the case, the petitioner/A2 filed a petition in Crl.M.P.No.1720 of 2019 under Section 227 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, to discharge the petitioner from the case. The learned Special Judge, after enquiry, dismissed the petition, against which, the petitioner filed the present revision before this Court.

3.The case of the petitioner is that the petitioner has been arrayed as accused No.2 in the above case for the alleged offences under Section 8(c) r/w Sections 20(B)(II)(C), 28 and 29 of the NDPS Act. The respondent alleged that on 18.07.2018 'Narcotics Control Bureau' ['NCB' for the sake of brevity] officials received a phone from reliable source that the accused are indulged in trafficking Ganja and they have procured around 150 kgs of Ganjas from Andhra Pradesh and transporting Ganja in Volkswagen car bearing Reg.No.TN-02-A-9959 to Nagapattinam via Chennai and while crossing Karanodai Toll Plaza, Chennai at around 21.00 hours, based on that information, the respondent went to the spot and recovered the contraband and brought the accused to the NCB office Chennai. After completion of all the formalities, the accused was arrested and remanded to judicial custody on 19.12.2018. After completion of the investigation, the complaint was filed before the learned Principal Sessions Judge for NDPS Act cases on 11.01.2019 and the said complaint was filed by Intelligence Officer one Mr.Akshay Hunurkar, Narcotics Control Bureau, Chennai Zonal Unit and he is the complainant in the above said case and he is the competent person to file this complaint under Section 36A of NDPS Act.

4. After the case was taken on file, the petitioner filed a petition under Section 227 of Cr.P.C to discharge him from the case in C.C.No.7 of 2019, on the ground that the complainant is not a gazetted officer and he is not a competent person or competent authority to conduct search, to file the complaint against him and also to arrest a person. In this case, there is a violation of mandatory provisions of Sections 41 & 42 of the NDPS Act. It is stated that the officer, who filed the complaint is not a competent officer under Section 36A of the NDPS Act to file the said complaint. The learned Special Judge, failed to consider the violation of mandatory provisions and competency of the complaint filed by the officer and dismissed the petition which warrants interference of this Court.

5. The learned counsel for the petitioner would submit that the trial Court failed to see that the charge sheet filed by the respondent did not contain enough materials to hold that there is sufficient ground for proceeding the case and to issue process to the petitioner. He would further submit that mere suspicious cannot serve as a sufficient ground for framing the charges in the absence of any material. He would further submit that the trial Court failed to see that the entire materials forming part of charge sheet even if it goes unrebutted, such materials will not be sufficient to hold that the petitioner is guilty under Section 8(c)