The Karnataka High Court has acquitted a senior citizen accused of growing cannabis in his backyard, observing that there was no proof that he had been actively cultivating the plants.
The order was passed on April 29 by a single-judge bench of Justice M Nagaprasanna and was recently made available.
As per the case, in January 2023, the house of the senior citizen in Bengaluru was searched based on a tip-off that cannabis was being cultivated. Criminal proceedings were later initiated against the senior citizen under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act.
The senior citizen petitioner’s counsel argued that for there to be a case of cultivation, there had to be an intentional raising of the plants. The five cannabis plants, which were seized, the counsel said, were growing amongst other weeds in the backyard. The counsel also stated that it might at best have been a case of cross-pollination, causing the plants to sprout, as there was no evidence of cultivation. He further argued that the plants were not properly segregated and the 27.3 kg weight stated by the police was taken by including the roots, stems, leaves, and buds.
On the other hand, the prosecution argued that the petitioner was prima facie guilty and the matter should go to trial.
The court concurred regarding the issue of segregating the plant material and pointed out that growth in nature is not cultivation. “If what was seized and the summary of the charge sheet are read in tandem, it would become an admitted fact that roots, stems, leaves, buds including plastic bag were put to weight. Whether this could be done is what is required to be noticed…. While it is a crime to permit cultivation of a cannabis crop in the residential premises, in the case at hand it is in the backyard amongst other weeds, general in nature,” the court said. Several cases, including statements by the Supreme Court to this effect, were cited.
Dismissing the case, the bench stated, “The prosecution has not placed an iota of evidence to demonstrate that the petitioner was cultivating ganja…segregation of leaves and the actual ganja is not made prior to weighing the same and the charge sheet is filed. Therefore, the charge sheet is filed blatantly contrary to law.”
© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd
