New Delhi, Oct 26 A Delhi court has granted anticipatory bail to a 19-year-old man accused of supplying ganja (marijuana) to a person arrested with 1.47 kg of the contraband, saying that the money transferred to him could not conclusively be linked to an alleged drug sale.
Special Judge Dheeraj Mor, hearing a plea moved by Parshuram, noted that no contraband had been recovered from him and the explanation he gave for receiving money from the co-accused required consideration.
In an order dated October 23, the court said, "The explanation advanced by the applicant warrants consideration and the same can only be delved upon during the trial of the case. The applicant is stated to have clean antecedents and he is a young boy of 19 years of age. Nothing incriminating has been recovered from him."
According to the prosecution, co-accused Deepak Kumar was apprehended during the intervening night of July 15 and 16 with 1.47 kg of ganja. He allegedly disclosed that he had purchased the contraband from Parshuram.
The prosecution relied on call detail records and bank statements, which allegedly showed that Parshuram was in contact with Deepak and had received a total of Rs 28,280 from him through multiple transactions.
Parshuram's counsel argued that the money was related to grocery purchases from his mother's shop in their native village and had nothing to do with the alleged drug supply. The defence also said the accused had no criminal antecedents, had joined the investigation and was not required for custodial interrogation.
The prosecution opposed the plea, contending that the explanation regarding the transactions remained unverified and that custodial interrogation was necessary to ascertain the source of the seized contraband.
The court noted that the account books maintained at the grocery shop reflected certain outstanding dues against Deepak, lending some support to Parshuram's explanation. It said the material available at this stage did not conclusively establish that the money transferred through the bank was towards the alleged sale of contraband.
The judge also said that the recovered quantity was intermediate and not commercial, making the twin conditions for bail under Section 37 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act inapplicable.
Granting anticipatory bail, the court directed Parshuram to furnish a personal bond of Rs 25,000 with one surety of the like amount. He was directed to join and cooperate with the investigation, not tamper with evidence or influence witnesses and appear before the court during trial.
