Bengaluru: The Karnataka High Court today granted bail to Kannada actress Sanjanaa Galrani in the Sandalwood Drug scandal case. Galrani, who was earlier denied bail by the High Court, had moved a fresh petition seeking grant of bail on medical grounds.
Galrani was granted bail on the condition of furnishing a personal bond of Rs. 3,00,000 with two sureties. She has also been directed to mark her attendance twice every month and to co-operate with the investigation and refrain from tampering with evidence.
The Court also directed the instant order be communicated to the Jail authorities today itself. Galrani is expected to be released by this evening or by tomorrow morning.
Yesterday, when the matter came up for hearing, Special Public Prosecutor (SPP) VG Tigadi had sought for an adjournment in the matter owing to his ill health.
On Monday, the Single Bench had directed for a detailed medical checkup of Sanjjanaa Galrani.
Senior Advocate Hasmath Pasha appeared for Galrani in the matter.
Last month, the Court had rejected the bail applications filed by Galrani and fellow Kannada actress Ragini Dwivedi, along with three others who were arrested in connection with the Sandalwood drug scandal.
While denying the grant of bail, Justice Kumar held that the custodial interrogation of the accused persons is imperative in order to discover evidence in the present investigation. The order stated,
"....if the petitioners have remained away from interrogation purposefully to see that traces of drug should vanish from their scalp hair, it only shows their ulterior motive. It is recorded in the case diary that accused no.10 – Abhiswamy @ Abhijit Rangaswamy is likely to fly off India. These being the circumstances, if anticipatory bail is granted, investigation may hamper. Of course conditions may be imposed, but their custodial interrogation to unearth the hidden evidence appears to be very much essential."
Also read: Sandalwood Drug Case: Sanjjanaa Galrani, Ragini Dwivedi's bail plea rejected
The actresses had approached the Court for the first time in October after a Special NDPS Court had denied to grant bail to them in the matter.
Galrani was reportedly taken into custody based on a suo motu case registered by at the Cottonpet police station for allegedly consuming and supplying banned narcotic substances at parties and events.
She was booked under the provisions of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 (NDPS Act), and the Indian Penal Code.
The complaint against Galrani was that she had formed a team in order to procure various narcotics from various states and foreign countries. It was alleged that Galrani and her team would sell the narcotic substances at various farmhouses, 5-star hotels, clubs, pubs etc.
