The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court has denied bail to Varun Lath, a wholesale drug dealer from Balrampur district, in a case involving the alleged illegal diversion and misuse of codeine-based cough syrup.
Court's Observation on Drug License
Justice Rajeev Bharti, while passing the order, observed that possessing a valid drug sale license does not grant immunity from prosecution under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act.
Details of the Case
The case was registered at Tulsipur police station in Balrampur district. According to the prosecution, an inspection of Ashok Medical Store was conducted on the directions of the Food Safety and Drug Administration. The probe allegedly revealed serious irregularities in the purchase and sale records of Codeiva cough syrup, a codeine-based formulation. It was alleged that large quantities of the cough syrup had been sold without maintaining the mandatory records and supporting sale documents.
Additional Advocate General (AAG) Anoop Trivedi opposed the bail plea, submitting that the investigation uncovered the applicant’s involvement in an organized network engaged in the diversion of codeine-based cough syrup. It argued that the quantity involved fell within the commercial category, thereby attracting the stringent conditions for bail under Section 37 of the NDPS Act. The state counsel further pointed out that several cases relating to the diversion and misuse of codeine-based medicines had surfaced in recent years.
Applicant's Defense
The applicant contended that he was a licensed wholesale dealer legally authorized to purchase and sell such medicines. His counsel argued that no contraband had been recovered from him and that he had been falsely implicated.
Court's Decision
Rejecting the plea, the court held that the material collected during investigation prima facie indicated serious allegations of diversion of codeine-based medicines. It observed that, at this stage, it could not record satisfaction that the accused was not guilty of the offences alleged or that he was unlikely to commit any offence if released on bail.
