MR. MORESH LUIS MENDIS vs THE STATE OF KARNATAKA
- Court
- Karnataka High Court
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HC-KAR
NC: 2026:KHC:61880
CRL.P No. 14026 of 2026
CNR: KAHC010626402026
IN THE HIGH COURT OF KARNATAKA AT BENGALURU
TH
DATED THIS THE 6 DAY OF NOVEMBER, 2026
BEFORE
THE HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE S VISHWAJITH SHETTY
CRIMINAL PETITION NO. 14026 OF 2026
BETWEEN:
MR. MORESH LUIS MENDIS
S/O LATE LUIS MENDIS
AGED ABOUT 50 YEAR
RESIDING AT NO.470
1ST CROSS, 3RD MAIN
KANAKSHRI LAYOUT
BYRATHI, NEAR SLV APARTMENT
BENGALURU - 560 077.
…PETITIONER
(BY SRI L.P.E. REGO, ADV.,)
AND:
THE STATE OF KARNATAKA
BY INTELLIGENCE OFFICER
DIRECTORATE OF REVENUE INTELLIGENCE
NO.8 (P) 2, 1ST BLOCK, 3RD MAIN
HBR LAYOUT, OPP BDA COMPLEX
KALYAN NAGAR POST, BENGALURU - 560 043
REPRESENTED BY STATE
PUBLIC PROSECUTORS, HIGH COURT
OF KARNATAKA, BENGALURU - 560 001.
…RESPONDENT
Digitally
signed by
NANDINI D
Location:
HIGH COURT
OF
KARNATAKA
(BY SRI MADHU N RAO, SR. STANDING COUNSEL)
THIS CRL.P IS FILED U/S 439 CR.P.C (U/S 483 BNSS)
PRAYING TO ENLARGE THE PETITIONER ON BAIL IN DRI/BZU/S-
IV/WNQ-28(INT-NIL)2026 DTD 31.07.2026, FOR THE OFFENCES
P/U/S 8(c),27A,28,29 OF NDPS ACT, 1985, PENDING BEFORE THE
XXXIII ADDL. CITY CIVIL AND SESSIONS JUDGE AND SPECIAL
JUDGE, NDPS, BENGALURU.
THIS PETITION, COMING ON FOR ORDERS, THIS DAY, ORDER
WAS MADE THEREIN AS UNDER:
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CRL.P No. 14026 of 2026
CNR: KAHC010626402026
CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE S VISHWAJITH SHETTY
ORAL ORDER
1. Accused no.6 in DRI/BZU/IV/ENQ-28/(INT-INL)/2026
registered by the Intelligence Officer of Directorate of Revenue
Intelligence, Bengaluru, for the offences punishable under
Sections 8(c), 27A, 28 & 29 of NDPS Act, 1985, is before this
Court in this petition filed under Section 483 of BNSS, 2023,
seeking regular bail.
2. Heard the learned Counsel for the parties.
3. Based on credible information received, the Officers of
DRI, Bengaluru Zonal Unit, on 27.07.2026 had conducted a
search and raid in a hotel premises at Bengaluru and had
apprehended accused nos.1 to 4 and from their possession,
contraband article allegedly amphetamine totally weighing 894
grams was recovered and seized under a panchanama.
Subsequently, they intercepted accused no.5 - Vijayakumar
Krishnan Kutty and during the course of further investigation,
3,700 grams of amphetamine was recovered and seized under
separate panchanama. It appears that accused no.5 had
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CRL.P No. 14026 of 2026
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received continuous phone calls and a person using mobile
Phone No.+44 79202 27055 was repeatedly contacting him
demanding payment of Rs.9 lakhs allegedly payable in
connection with contraband article seized in the present case.
The caller had informed accused no.5 that another person
would be coming to collect the said amount in cash. It is under
these circumstances, accused no.5 was taken to the specified
location for handing over cash of Rs.9 lakhs and at about 00.15
hours on 30.07.2026, one unknown male person approached
accused no.5 - Vijayakumar Krishnan Kutty for collecting
payment and immediately thereafter, he was apprehended by
the officers of DRI and he disclosed his name as Moresh Luis
Mendis. It is under these circumstances, petitioner was
arrested on 31.07.2026 and subsequently remanded to judicial
custody. His bail application filed thereafter before the Trial
Court in Crl. Misc. No.7868/2026 was rejected on 01.09.2026.
Therefore, he is before this Court.
4. Learned Counsel for the petitioner having reiterated the
grounds urged in the petition, submits that petitioner aged 50
years has no other criminal antecedents. He is a married man
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having family. He has been carrying on the business of financial
services and has a valid license for the same. He submits that
the material on record would go to show that petitioner was not
at all aware of the money which he was supposed to collect was
in any way connected to illegal trafficking of drugs. No
incriminating material has been collected against the petitioner
except the whatsapp messages, wherein petitioner was
instructed to collect money from accused no.5. Accordingly, he
prays to allow the petition.
5. Per contra, learned Counsel for the respondent, who has
filed statement of objections, has opposed the bail petition,
contending that investigation of the case is still under progress.
He submits that whatsapp messages which are recovered from
the phone of the petitioner connects him to the alleged crime.
Material collected during the course of investigation
corroborates with the confession statement of the petitioner.
Commercial quantity of contraband article has been seized in
the present case and in view of Section 29 of the NDPS Act,
petitioner's prayer for grant of regular bail, at this stage,
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cannot be entertained. Accordingly, he prays to dismiss the
petition.
6. According to the prosecution, after accused no.5 was
apprehended and seizure of contraband article was made at his
instance, they had noticed that accused no.5 was receiving
continuous phone calls from a mobile phone bearing No.+44
79202 27055, which according to the prosecution, belongs to a
lady who is identified as "Feedme Well Queen". Petitioner
herein was allegedly instructed by the aforesaid lady for
collecting the amount of Rs.9 lakhs from accused no.5 towards
the price of the contraband article which allegedly was supplied
to him by/through her. According to the prosecution, the
aforesaid person using mobile phone bearing No.+44 79202
27055 had informed accused no.5 that money would collected
by a person from a specified location on 30.07.2026 and it is
under these circumstances, the officers of DRI had taken
accused no.5 to the specified location, and thereafter, when the
petitioner arrived at the said location for collecting money, he
was apprehended.
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7. Annexure-C appended to this petition is a copy of the
Mahazar dated 29.07.2026 which would go to show that on
29.07.2026 itself, the officers of DRI had conducted a raid and
search to the house premises of the petitioner bearing No.470,
Raj Niwas, 1st Main, Kanakashree Layout, Byrathi, Bengaluru -
560 077. No incriminating material was found in the house of
the petitioner. In the backdrop of the aforesaid raid conducted
to the house premises of the petitioner on 29.07.2026, a
serious doubt arises with regard to the case of the prosecution
that on 30.07.2026, petitioner had arrived at the specified
location as stated above for collecting the amount of Rs.9 lakhs
from accused no.5 at the instance of the unknown caller from
mobile phone bearing No.+44 79202 27055 and thereafter he
was arrested.
8. Learned Counsel for the respondent, during the course of
arguments, has produced certain whatsapp messages
contending that the person using mobile phone bearing No.+44
79202 27055, had forwarded the messages to the petitioner to
collect the amount from accused no.5 and inturn, petitioner
also had contacted accused no.5 and forwarded messages to
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him stating that he has instructions to collect the money for
hawala transaction.
9. Voluntary statement of accused no.6 recorded in the
present case, would reveal that he had clearly stated that the
person using mobile phone bearing No.+44 79202 27055 had
informed him that she was into the business of cosmetics and
hair products. There is no such admission made by the
petitioner in his confession statement that he was fully aware
that the amount that was supposed to be collected by him and
transferred at the instance of the person using mobile phone
bearing No.+44 79202 27055 was in any way connected to the
illegal trafficking of narcotic drugs. In the absence of any
material to connect the petitioner even remotely to the alleged
crime except the whatsapp messages wherein he was
instructed to collect money from accused no.5 and transfer the
same as instructed, it cannot be said that at this stage, there is
prima facie material against the petitioner for the alleged
crime.
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10. Undisputedly, petitioner is carrying on the business of
financial services and he has no other criminal antecedents. He
has said to be a married man and his children are pursuing
their education.
BHARAT
11. The Hon'ble Supreme Court in the case of
CHAUDHARY VS UNION OF INDIA - (2021)20 SCC 50 , has
observed that reliance on print outs of whatsapp messages
downloaded from the mobile phone and devices seized from the
office premises of the accused cannot be treated at this stage
as sufficient material to establish a live link between the
arrested accused and the other accused when even as per the
prosecution, scientific reports in respect of the said devices was
still awaited.
12. Even in the present case, except the whatsapp messages
as aforesaid, there is absolutely no other material placed on
record by the prosecution to connect the petitioner to the
alleged crime. Further, as stated earlier, even in the search and
raid that was conducted to the house premises of the petitioner
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on 29.07.2026, nothing incriminating has been found and
seized by the officers of DRI.
13. Petitioner is in custody in the present case for the last
more than three months. Merely for the reason that contraband
article seized from the other accused 1 to 4 is of commercial
quantity, petitioner cannot be detained in custody when the
prosecution has failed to produce any reliable material to
connect the petitioner to the crime in question. Under the
circumstances, I am of the opinion that petitioner's prayer for
grant of regular bail needs to be answered affirmatively,
subject to appropriate conditions. Accordingly, the following
order:
14. The petition is allowed. The petitioner is directed to be
enlarged on bail in DRI/BZU/IV/ENQ-28/(INT-INL)/2026
registered by the Intelligence Officer of Directorate of Revenue
Intelligence, Bengaluru, for the offences punishable under
Sections 8(c), 27A, 28 & 29 of NDPS Act, 1985, subject to the
following conditions:
a) Petitioner shall execute personal bond for a
sum of Rs.1,00,000/- with two sureties for the
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likesum, to the satisfaction of the jurisdictional
Court;
b) The petitioner shall appear regularly on all
the dates of hearing before the Trial Court unless
the Trial Court exempts his appearance for valid
reasons;
c) The petitioner shall not directly or
indirectly threaten or tamper with the prosecution
witnesses;
d) The petitioner shall not involve in similar
offences in future;
e) The petitioner shall not leave the
jurisdiction of the Trial Court without permission
of the said Court until the case registered against
him is disposed off.
Sd/
(S VISHWAJITH SHETTY)
JUDGE
KK