The Madras High Court on Tuesday granted bail to actors Srikanth and Krishna, who were recently arrested on allegations that they had purchased cocaine for personal consumption [Krishna @ Krishnakumar v. State and connected matter]..Justice M Nirmal Kumar granted bail to the two actors subject to conditions including the execution of a ₹10,000 bond with two sureties. They were also ordered to cooperate with the ongoing investigation and appear before the police every morning at 10.30 AM for the next two weeks. .Both actors have been booked for offences punishable under Sections 8(c), 22(b), 27 and 29(1) of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 (NDPS Act).By way of background, the police had earlier apprehended one Pradeep Kumar from a bus stop in Nungambakkam after receiving a tip that he may be carrying cocaine. A gram of cocaine was allegedly recovered from Kumar's possession. Kumar is said to have revealed that he was supplied the drug by a Ghanaian national named John. John was apprehended with Kumar's help from Hosur bus stop. The police said they seized 10 packets of cocaine from John, weighing 1 gram each.During the investigation, Kumar and John allegedly said that the two actors were among those who had bough cocaine from them. Based on this information, the two were arrested in the last week of June. .A medical test to detect cocaine in the body came back positive for Srikanth, but was negative for Krishna. Both actors denied the allegations against them. Srikanth added that if at all there was any cocaine in his system, it was accidental and unintentional. The Court recorded his submission that he meets several people during the course of his work and that he is not aware of whether any food served to him during these meetings could have been laced with cocaine or not. Krishna's counsel pointed out that the medical test showed that there was no cocaine in his system. He further contended that Krishna was only booked based on a statement by a co-accused, which is not admissible as evidence. Both actors added that in any case, the allegation was that they bought cocaine for personal consumption (and not for commercial purposes), which would entitle them to bail. .The State opposed the bail applications. The police said that a special team was formed after getting information that those among higher echelons of the society were using drugs during parties and other gatherings, and that the authorities were taking steps to act against such drug abuse. The Court, however, eventually granted them bail after noting that the allegation is only that they bought cocaine for personal use, as opposed to any alleged purchase of the drugs for commercial purposes. "It is seen that the petitioners purchased cocaine only for their personal consumption and hence, the case against the petitioners attracts Section 27 of NDPS Act. Hence, this Court is inclined to grant bail to the petitioners with certain conditions," the Court said. .Advocate L Infant Dinesh represented Krishna. Senior Counsel R John Sathyan and Advocate K Prem Anand represented Srikanth.Government Advocate (Criminal Side) R Vinothraja represented the State. .[Read Order]
