SC GRANTS BAIL TO KANNADA ACTOR RAGINI DWIVEDI IN DRUGS CASE

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court Thursday granted bail to Kannada film actress Ragini Dwivedi in the drugs racket case. A bench of justices R F Nariman, Navin Sinha and K M Joseph set aside the November 3 order of the Karnataka High Court refusing to grant bail to Dwivedi and others in the case registered under various provisions of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act.

During the hearing conducted through video conferencing, senior advocate Siddharth Luthra appearing for Dwivedi said the 31-year-old actress is in jail while three other co-accused are on bail. He said that on September 2 last year, acting on information allegedly received by the police, she was arrested but no recovery of contraband was made from her.

Luthra referred to the FIR and said the statement of one Ravi Shankar was relied upon and that there was alleged recovery of small quantities of contraband and was accused of financing the drugs. He said the HC rejected her bail while seizure memo showed that menthol free six cigarettes and few other objects were recovered from her.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the prosecution, said that this is not a case of mere personal consumption, but she has been found organising these rave parties at various places and there she had supplied drugs. He said there has also been tempering of the evidence, with the urine sample being replaced with water. The bench said, this is a case in which bail should have been granted. “We will grant her bail and set aside the HC order”.

THE PROSECUTION SAID THAT THIS IS NOT A CASE OF MERE PERSONAL CONSUMPTION, BUT THE ACTOR WAS FOUND SUPPLYING DRUGS TO OTHERS AT RAVE PARTIES WHICH SHE ORGANISED