Car occupants held with e-cigarettes and small-quantity drugs get passports back
The High Court recorded that police in Chokli found two men travelling in a car with ganja, charas, MDMA, nicotine fluid and e-cigarettes. The Magistrate had treated the offences as non-bailable and kept their passports. The High Court held all the alleged offences were bailable, set aside that order and directed return of the passports.
This page records what the cited court records say happened. Findings belong to the court or authority that made them; this register adds none of its own. Names of private individuals are withheld unless a naming gate clears them.
How we verify →Pretrial passport condition set aside; the underlying prosecution is not shown as quashed.
What happened
The High Court recorded that the petitioners were the first and third accused in Crime No.683/2019 of the Chokli police station.
Police said that on 27.11.2019 the men were found in a car bearing Reg.No.KL 18/K-3198 with 1.530 grams of ganja, 2.40 grams of charas, 40 milligrams of MDMA, two bottles of nicotine fluid and e-cigarettes.
The High Court recorded that the alleged offences included narcotics provisions and Section 4(1) read with 7 of the e-cigarette prohibition law, which the Magistrate had called non-bailable small-quantity offences.
The High Court held all the alleged offences were bailable, set aside the Magistrate's order and directed that the impounded passports be returned forthwith.
What the record says
“two bottles of nicotine fluid and e- cigarettes while they were travelling in the car”
[name withheld] vs The Station House Officer, Crl.MC Nos.8975 and 8979 of 2019(B), order text as reproduced on Indian Kanoon — read the full text
No complaining victim
Possessing and using e-cigarettes or vapes harms no other person; the vape allegation concerns private possession in a car with no complainant, violence or coercion.
What we could not confirm
No post-2020 pure-vape Kerala judgment was found; this case also involves small-quantity NDPS allegations, disclosed here, but no violence, minor, fraud or other listed harm. District is not stated in the order beyond Chokli police station, so district is left null.