A.Pandeeswaran v. The State Of Tamil Nadu

BEFORE THE MADURAI BENCH OF MADRAS HIGH COURT ( Criminal Jurisdiction ) Date : 18.03.2026 PRESENT THE HONOURABLE MR.JUSTICE K.K.RAMAKRISHNAN CRL OP(MD)No.11875 of 2025 A.Pandeeswaran ... Petitioner / Accused No.1

Versus

The State of Tamilnadu, Rep by the Inspector of Police, NIB CID, Dindigul District.

(Crime No.15 of 2023) ... Respondent / Complainant PRAYER :-Criminal Original Petition filed under Section 483 of the BNSS, 2023, to enlarge the petitioner on bail in Crime No.15 of 2023 in C.C.No.161 of 2024 on the file of the learned Principal Special Court for EC and NDPS Act Cases, Madurai on the file of the respondent police. For Petitioner :

M/s.K.Sakthivel Advocate For Respondent :

Mr.S.Ravi Additional Public Prosecutor 1/5

ORDER : The Court made the following order :- The petitioner, who was arrested and remanded to judicial custody on 25.11.2023 for the offences punishable under Sections 8(C) r/w 20(b) (ii)(C), 25 and 29(1) of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, in Crime No.15 of 2023 on the file of the respondent police, seeks bail.

2. The case of the prosecution is that on 24.11.2023, at about 06.00 hours, the respondent police conducted vehicle search, at that time, they found in possession of 23.600Kgs of ganja. After following the due process of law, the respondent police recovered the contraband and registered the present case.

3. The learned counsel appearing for the petitioner submitted that the petitioner is an innocent person and that he has not committed any offence as alleged by the prosecution. He further submitted that the coaccused had earlier filed a bail petition and the same was allowed and granted bail to the co-accused on 14.11.2025 & 09.12.2025. He further 2/5

submitted that the petitioner has been in incarceration for nearly 593 days. On this ground, he prayed for grant of bail to the petitioner.

4. The learned Additional Public Prosecutor submitted that the respondent police completed investigation and filed final report and the same was taken on file in C.C.No.161 of 2024 on the file of Additional District Judge, Principal Special Court for E& and NDPS Act Cases, Madurai. The trial was already commenced and the case was posted on 23.03.2026, for the examination of L.W.11 to 20. Apart from that, the period of incarceration in cases under the NDPS Act is not by itself a ground for granting bail. He further submitted that the petitioner has not satisfied the requirements under Section 37 of the NDPS Act. Hence, he strongly objected to the grant of bail to the petitioner.

5. This Court heard the learned counsel appearing on either side and perused the materials placed on record.

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6. Considering the facts and circumstances of the case, this Court finds that there are sufficient materials produced by the Investigating Agency to show the involvement of the petitioner in the crime. It is also seen that the trial was commenced and posted on 23.03.2026 for the examination of L.W.11 to 20. At this stage, this Court is not inclined to grant bail to the petitioner. Accordingly, this Criminal Original Petition is dismissed.

18.03.2026 gvn To

1. The Principal Special Court for Trial of NDPS Cases, Madurai.

2. The Inspector of Police, NIB CID, Dindigul District.

3.The Additional Public Prosecutor, Madurai Bench of Madras High Court, Madurai.

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K.K.RAMAKRISHNAN ,J.

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ORDER

IN CRL OP(MD) No.11875 of 2025 Date : 18.03.2026 5/5