Karnataka High Court scraps proceedings against a man accused in the Parappana Agrahara prison drug case (Image generated using AI).The Karnataka High Court last week scrapped a criminal case against a 36-year-old man who was allegedly involved in smuggling drugs inside the Parappana Agrahara prison in Bengaluru in 2022.Justice Rajesh Rai K, in an order dated September 15, allowed the petition filed by Anji M, who was charged under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act.The court ruled, “The entire allegation in the chargesheet, even if taken at face value, no offence has been made out in the chargesheet against this petitioner. As such, continuation of the proceedings against this petitioner is nothing but abuse of process of court.”The case originated on February 2, 2022, when Veeresh P C of the Karnataka State Industrial Security Force (KSISF) was manning the main gate of Parappana Agrahara prison. He noticed an assistant in the prison, Gangadhara Gurusiddappa Hebballi, carrying a lemon and flowers in his pant pocket.A further search by staff uncovered two hidden items wrapped in white and black plastic covers in his private pocket. Analysis confirmed the packets contained LSD strips and an opium-like substance weighing approximately 50 to 75 grams.Jail authorities apprehended Hebballi, and the Superintendent of Parappana Agrahara prison lodged an FIR. Subsequent investigations led to the arrest of seven other accused, including Anji.Also Read | Bengaluru prison security breach: Staff and visitor caught smuggling contrabandAccording to the prosecution, Anji’s mother, Sumathi (accused No. 2), allegedly supplied the contraband through Anji to Malvin (accused No. 6). Malvin then handed the drugs to Hebballi to smuggle into the prison. Hebballi was allegedly instructed to deliver the contraband to inmate Shivakumar, who would then pass it to another inmate, Satisha, to sell to prisoners.Story continues below this adSeeking to scrap the charges, Anji’s counsel, Advocate K Ravishankar, submitted that Anji was implicated solely because Malvin allegedly purchased the narcotics from his mother. He noted that the initial FIR named only Hebballi, and Anji was implicated later based entirely on the voluntary statements of co-accused.“Only based on the confessional statement of co-accused, an accused cannot be implicated for the offence under the provision of NDPS,” Ravishankar argued. The prosecution opposed the plea, stating that the filed charge sheet revealed Anji’s involvement.After examining the chargesheet, the bench noted that the only allegation against Anji was that accused No. 2 is his mother and that accused No. 6 purchased the substance from her. The court observed that no other allegations were made against him and that he was implicated solely on the voluntary statements of co-accused Nos. 2, 4, and 6.Allowing the petition, the bench scrapped the proceedings against Anji while clarifying that proceedings against the other co-accused will continue.