The Kerala High Court on Wednesday quashed the crime registered under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act against Sheela Sunny, owner of a beauty parlour at Chalakudy, who was arrested and jailed for 72 days in the case.
She was arrested on February 27 following the seizure of synthetic drugs (12 LSD stamps) from her bag kept in her two-wheeler by excise officers. However, a laboratory test result later revealed that the seized substance was not a synthetic drug.
Justice Kauser Edappagath passed the verdict when a petition filed by Ms. Sunny seeking to quash the case in the view of the laboratory report came up for hearing. According to her, the excise authorities had not done any proper investigation or inquiry before arresting her. She pointed out that the certificate issued by the chemical examination laboratory said that Lysergic Acid Diethylamide (LSD) had not been detected from the contraband article. She added that allegations against her were false. She said that her two-wheeler was usually parked on the road near her beauty parlour. As the storage box of the vehicle lacked a lock and key, anybody can insert the contraband article in the vehicle.
The vehicle was, in fact, used by her daughter-in-law and her sister in the evening of February 26, 2023. The drug might have been inserted into her bag by somebody else. She was trapped in a false case. Though she had explained her innocence to the excise officials, no steps had been taken for conducting an impartial and effective investigation into her statement, she pointed out.
Published - July 05, 2023 06:54 pm IST
