Mr. Pilassery Meethal Thajul Diyoof, v. Senior Intelligence Officer

IN THE HIGH COURT FOR THE STATE OF TELANGANA AT

HYDERABAD THE HONOURABLE SMT. JUSTICE K. SUJANA CRIMINAL PETITION Nos.8297 and 8301 of 2026 DATE: 18.06.2026 Crl.P.No.8297 of 2026 Between:

Pilassary Meethal Thajul Diyoof

...Petitioner/accused No.1

AND The Senior Intelligence Officer, Directorate of Revenue Intelligence, 10-2-289/57/182, Suryavanshi Residency, II Cross Road, Shantinagar, Masab Tank, Hyderabad-500028.

.... Respondent/Complainant Crl.P.No.8301 of 2026 Between:

Valappil Safa Abdulla

...Petitioner/accused No.2

AND The Senior Intelligence Officer, Directorate of Revenue Intelligence, 10-2-289/57/182, Suryavanshi Residency, II Cross Road, Shantinagar, Masab Tank, Hyderabad-500028.

.... Respondent/Complainant

- 2 - COMMON O R D E R These Criminal Petitions are filed before this Court for grant of bail to the Petitioners who are arrayed as accused Nos.1 and 2 in Cr.No.F.No.DRI/HZU/48E/ENQ-10(INT10)/2026 on the file of the learned XXV Additional Judicial Magistrate, At Rajender Nagar, Cyberabad, Ranga Reddy District, registered for the offences punishable under Sections 20, 23, 28, and 29 of NDPS Act.

2.

The brief facts of the case are that, based on the specific and credible intelligence developed, officers of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), Hyderabad Zonal Unit, had reasons to believe that two passengers namely Mr. Pilassery Meethal Thajul Diyoof (holding Passport No. V5206949) and Ms. Valappil Safa Abdulla (holding Passport No. V2217244) travelling from Bangkok (BKK), Thailand to Hyderabad by Ind. Flight No. 6E-1068 arriving in the afternoon of 19.05.2026, bearing PNR No. P982XM were illicitly carrying narcotic drugs in contravention of the provisions of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985. Accordingly, at about 14:40 Hrs (02:40 PM) on 19.05.2026, the officers of DRI, Hyderabad have intercepted the said passengers namely Mr. Pilassery Meethal

- 3 - Thajul Diyoof and Ms. Valappil Safa Abdulla, at the green channel area of the Customs International Arrival Hall, Rajiv Gandhi International Airport, Shamshabad, Hyderabad, in the presence of two independent panch witnesses and introduced themselves as officers of DRI, HZU by showing their Identity Cards and the respondent authorities have seized the contraband of 8.705 kgs of Ganja/Marijuana from the possession of petitioners/accused Nos.1 and 2. Hence, the Complaint.

3.

Heard Mr. Mohammed Ghouse Pasha, learned counsel for the petitioners and, Mr.Dominic Fernandes, learned Senior Standing for CBIC appearing for the respondent. 4.

Learned counsel for the petitioners submitted that the petitioners are innocent of the allegations levelled against them and have been falsely implicated in the present case. It is submitted that the petitioners, who are arrayed as Accused Nos.1 and 2, have been in judicial custody since 20.05.2026. Learned counsel further submitted that the contraband allegedly seized suspected to be Ganja/Marijuana from the possession of the petitioners is 8.705 kilograms, which falls within the category of intermediate quantity. It is further submitted that petitioners are ready to co-operate with the

- 4 - investigation. It is further contended that there is no statutory bar preventing the petitioners from approaching this Court directly for grant of bail and on the aforesaid grounds, learned counsel prayed that this Court may be pleased to enlarge the petitioners on bail by allowing the present Criminal Petitions.

5.

On the other hand, the learned Senior Standing Counsel vehemently opposed the submissions made by the learned counsel for the petitioners and opposed the grant of bail. It is submitted that the value of the seized contraband exceeds Rs.14 lakhs, which indicates the serious involvement of the petitioners in the offence. It is further contended that the investigation is still in progress. Moreover, the petitioners have an efficacious alternative remedy of approaching the learned Trial Court having competent jurisdiction for seeking bail. Therefore, it is prayed that the present Criminal Petitions be dismissed 6.

In light of the submissions made by both learned counsel and upon perusal of the material available on record, it appears that the petitioner has been in judicial custody since 20.05.2026. As seen from the record, the contraband allegedly seized from his possession is 8.705 kilograms of a

- 5 - substance suspected to be ganja/marijuana, which falls within the category of intermediate quantity. Although the respondent authorities have stated that the value of the seized contraband exceeds Rs.14 lakhs and that it was transported from Bangkok, the alleged offences are punishable under Sections 20, 23, 28, and 29 of the NDPS Act. Considering the facts and circumstances of the case, the nature of the allegations, the duration of incarceration, the progress in the investigation, this Court finds it appropriate to grant bail to the petitioners, subject to the following conditions:

i.

The petitioners shall execute a personal bond for a sum of Rs.25,000/- each (Rupees Twenty Five Thousand only), with two sureties for a like sum each to the satisfaction of the learned XXV Additional Judicial Magistrate, at Rajender Nagar, Cyberabad, Ranga Reddy District.

ii.

The petitioners shall appear before the concerned respondent authority at 11:00 a.m., on every Monday for a period of eight (8) weeks, or till filing of

- 6 - charge sheet whichever is earlier, for the purpose of investigation, and thereafter, as and when required.

iii.

The petitioners shall abide by the conditions stipulated in Section 437(3) of Cr.P.C. (presently, Section 480(3) of the BNSS).

7.

Accordingly, the Criminal Petitions are allowed.

Miscellaneous applications, if any pending, shall stand closed.

_______________ K. SUJANA, J Date: 18.06.2026 gv

- 7 - THE HON'BLE SMT. JUSTICE K. SUJANA CRIMINAL PETITION Nos.8297 and 8301 OF 2026 DATE : 16.06.2026 gv