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Judgment
Mary Joseph, J
This Writ Petition is filed by the father of the 5th accused in crime No.10/2020 of Excise Enforcement and Anti Narcotic Special Squad, Thiruvananthapuram, registered for an offence punishable under Section 36A(1)(d) of Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 (for short, the NDPS Act).
The reliefs sought in the writ petition are:
"i) Writ of mandamus or any appropriate writ or order directing the respondents 13 and 14 to preserve the call details of respondents 3 to 12 with tower location till the disposal of NDPS CR No.10/2020 of Excise Enforcement and Anti Narcotic Special Squad Thiruvananthapuram which is now pending as SC No.553/2021 before Addl. District and Sessions Judge-V, Thiruvananthapuram.
ii) Declare that the respondents 13 and 14 are duty bound to preserve the call history of the respondents 3 to 12 with tower location; and
iii) Such other appropriate writ, order or direction as this Hon'ble Court may deem fit and proper in the facts and circumstances of the case."
The allegation of the petitioner was that accused Nos.1 and 2 were caught red handed by the excise team alongwith 501.5 Kg of Ganga, which was transported in a lorry bearing No.AP-29-TB-3207. Based on the statements given by those accused, petitioner's son was arrested and arrayed as 5th accused. There is nothing to connect the 5th accused with the crime. The 5th accused had occasion to see the other accused from the jail. According to him in fact, accused Nos. 1 and 2 were arrested on 04.09.2020 from Mysore, brought to Kerala and the crime in question was registered but, falsely shown in the records as arrested on 06.09.2020. According to him, the call details of accused Nos.1 and 2 and that of the Excise Officers would help him to unveil the falsity in the prosecution case during trial.
Call details are called for from respondents 13 and 14. Respondents 13 and 14 were served and they entered appearance through Adv.P.Satheesan and Mathews K. Philip. According to them the call details and tower location details will be available only for one year and therefore, unless preserved, those would not be available during trial, which is to take place much later. According to them the call details could be furnished only in sealed cover and the tower location details in coded form at the relevant time when those are required during trial.
In the above circumstances, the W.P.(C) is disposed of with a direction to respondents 13 and 14 to preserve the call details of respondents 3 to 12 with tower location of mobile phone numbers 9847390451, 9447210914, 9446348588, 9447310012, 9447024024, 94400866859, 94496102000, 9847947420, 8281264407, 9966051524 of September 4, 5 and 6 of 2020 in the manner they have undertaken to preserve it for enabling production in evidence. This Court has passed only an order to preserve it and it is for the Additional District and Sessions Court-V Thiruvananthapuram, to decide whether the preserved materials are liable to be called for and admitted in evidence. The affected parties must be heard prior to doing so.