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Judgment
Cheekati Manavendranath Roy, J
This criminal petition is filed under Section 439 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, to enlarge the petitioners on bail.
The petitioners are A-1 to A-4 in Crime No.140 of 2021 of Araku Vally Police Station, Visakhapatnam District.
A case under Sections 20(b)(ii)(C) read with Section 8(c) of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 (for short ‘NDPS’ Act) was registered against them in the above crime.
It is the case of the prosecution that on 17.11.2021 the petitioners herein were found to be illegally transporting 32 KGs of ganja in an Auto Rickshaw and at that time they were apprehended by the police and the contraband was seized from their possession in the presence of mediators and under the cover of mediators’ report. Therefore, it is stated that the petitioners have committed the aforesaid offence.
Heard learned counsel for the petitioners and the learned Additional Public Prosecutor for the State.
The total contraband that is involved in this case is 32 KGs of ganja which is a commercial quantity. Therefore, the bar under Section 37 of the NDPS Act applies to the present facts of the case. There is nothing to indicate on record that the petitioners are not guilty of committing the said offence. On the other hand, as the petitioners were found to be in possession of the said ganja and as they were apprehended by the police while they were transporting the said ganja in an Auto Rickshaw, the accusation made against the petitioners is prima facie well founded. Further, investigation in this case is still pending. Therefore, in the facts and circumstances of the case, the petitioners are not entitled to bail at this stage.
Resultantly, the Criminal Petition is dismissed.