HC quashes 'frivolous' drugs case against Mamta Kulkarni

The Bombay high court has quashed a 2016 drugs case registered against former Bollywood actor Mamta Kulkarni, noting that the proceedings against her were manifestly frivolous and vexatious and continuation of the same would be nothing short of abuse of the process of court.

A division bench of Justices Bharati Dangre and Manjusha Deshpande in an order passed on July 22, a copy of which was made available on Wednesday, said it was of the 'clear opinion' that the material collected against Kulkarni does not prima facie constitute any offence against her.

'We are satisfied that the continuation of the prosecution against the petitioner (Kulkarni) would be nothing short of abuse of process of court,' the bench said in its order.

The court said it was satisfied that this was a fit case to exercise its inherent powers to quash the FIR since the proceedings are 'manifestly frivolous and vexatious'.

Kulkarni had filed a petition for quashing of the FIR lodged against her in 2016 by the Thane police under various provisions of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act.

She claimed that she has been implicated in the case and that she was only acquainted with one Vicky Goswami, one of the co-accused in the case.

The police in April 2016 arrested two persons for alleged possession of one kilogram of ephedrine, a narcotic substance. After a preliminary probe, a case was registered against 10 more persons, including Kulkarni.

The prosecution case is that Kulkarni along with other co-accused, including Vicky Goswami, had in January 2016 held a conspiracy meeting in a hotel in Kenya for the sale and purchase of narcotic substances.

The bench perused the witness statements and other evidence submitted in the chargesheet and noted that the alleged conspiracy meeting had taken place in the dining hall of the hotel in Kenya and that she was sitting on a sofa next to the dining table.

The court said it was of the view that the material submitted in the chargesheet was not sufficient to sustain the charge levelled against Kulkarni under the provisions of the NDPS Act.

"Mere presence of the petitioner (Kulkarni) in one of the meetings, even by accepting the material as what is reflected in the chargesheet, would definitely not be sufficient for sustaining conviction under the provisions invoked in the chargesheet," the bench said.