HC sceptical of man’s claim 27 kg ganja grew on its own

NT Correspondent

Bengaluru

The Karnataka High Court was faced with an unusual claim on Tuesday when a 67-year-old Bengaluru resident, booked by the police for cultivating a commercial quantity of ganja (cannabis), asserted that he was unaware of the cannabis growing in his backyard. The accused, Chandrashekar, who was found to be cultivating over 27 kilograms of ganja, sought to have the case against him quashed. His counsel argued that the cannabis plants might have grown spontaneously due to pollination, as the backyard had been unused, according to a report by Bar and Bench.

However, Justice M. Nagaprasanna expressed scepticism about the claim, questioning how such a large quantity of ganja could grow naturally. “Twenty-six kilograms and 360 grams from plants found in the backyard? Was he growing trees or plants to reach this quantity? Your argument is that pollen might have fallen. But you live in Jayanagar… it’s a concrete jungle. How is cross-pollination possible in Jayanagar?” the Court asked, as reported by Bar and Bench. The State argued that the accused had committed a “serious offence against society.” In response, the defence counsel clarified that the senior citizen had been booked only for cultivation, not for consumption or sale of the illegal substance. The Court retorted, “Then why were you growing it? Passion, is it?” Justice Nagaprasanna granted the accused additional time to provide an explanation for how such a large quantity of cannabis came to be in his backyard. “Let me see this first. If there’s nothing, we’ll quash the matter there itself. But first, you need to explain how it started growing there,” the Court remarked. The next hearing has been scheduled for 4 December, as per the report.