Snehal Upadhyay-
Published on August 24, 2021, at 17:00 IST
The Bombay Court denied granting bail to two youngsters, including a teenager, arrested for allegedly selling marijuana-laced brownie cakes.
The Court observed “mere tender age” cannot be a deciding ground for granting bail.
The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) had arrested a 20-year-old woman and a 19-year-old man for allegedly selling brownie cake made of marijuana from their premises in Malad in June. NCB also seized 35 grams of marijuana from them.
The Court said, “I am of the opinion that the mere tender age of the applicants/accused cannot be a deciding factor while considering the bail application and sympathetic approach cannot be taken in cases where the gravity of the matter appears to be more.”
The public prosecutor Advait Sethna was representing NCB and had opposed their bail applications. It was brought to the notice that marijuana was sold through social media.
Lawyer Taraq Sayyed representing the two youngsters stated that they were involved in selling marijuana to earn their livelihood and make money.
Further, he contended that the quantity seized by them was “small” as per the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985. The NCB contended that the quantity seized had a commercial quantity of LSD and it was recovered from their supplier and hence this fact cannot be ignored.
The Court taking into consideration of the forensic reports which were submitted by the NCB stated that “The report (is) positive and therefore, I am of the prima facie view that the gravity of the matter is much more than what is reflected from the small quantity of the ganja contraband recovered from them.”