Tanzanian High Court judge’s son, in Kerala jail for 270 days, gets HC relief in drug case

According to the prosecution, two persons were found in possession of 221.89 grams of MDMA in a lodge under Kunnamangalam police station limits in Kozhikode city on January 21 this year. Police probe revealed that several other accused were involved in the case. The foreign nationals were accused of financing the procurement of the contraband and on that basis they were arrested from Phagwara on March 13 and were produced at a court in Kozhikode two days later. Since then they have been in judicial custody.

In June this year, the High Court dismissed their bail application as the prosecution alleged that more than Rs 50 lakh had been credited into the account of Atka within a period of four months from one of the suspects.

While granting bail to the two students, the HC on December 18 noted that the grounds for the arrest were not communicated to the arrested persons. “The details of the records produced by the investigating officer before the magistrate do not indicate any material to show that the grounds for arrest were communicated at the time of arrest at Phagwara. The only material to connect the two petitioners with the offence alleged and the other accused is the financial transaction between the second accused (name not mentioned in the court order) and David through Canara Bank, NRI account. The amount transferred is stated to be Rs.42,500. The final report does not indicate any other material to connect the petitioners with the offence alleged or with the other accused,’’ said the court.

The High Court quoted a Supreme Court verdict, which said mere financial transactions between the accused cannot be a reason to implicate them in the crime under the NDPS Act; the financial transactions can only be used to corroborate the evidence otherwise available.

Granting bail, the court said the petitioners shall not leave the country without the permission of jurisdictional court and they shall report before the SHO, Satnamprua police station, Phagwara, on the fourth Saturday of every month until the conclusion of trial. Their travel should be intimated to the investigating officer and they should surrender their passport before the magistrate court. They have to execute a bond for Rs 1 lakh each.