Representative image of cannabis.
Credit: iStock Photo
The Karnataka High Court on Tuesday was witness to an amusing defence by a senior citizen who was booked for growing cannabis in his backyard.
According to a report in Bar and Bench, 67-year-old Bengaluru resident Chandrashekar was booked for growing 27 kilograms of cannabis in his backyard.
His counsel argued that because the backyard had not been in use for a long time, the plant might have grown on its own through pollination.
The court, however, found the argument hard to believe due to the quantity of ganja found.
“27 kg 360 grams from plants found in the backyard? Was he growing trees or plants for this quantity? Your ground is that pollen might have fallen. But you live in Jayanagar... it is a concrete jungle. How is any cross-pollination possible in Jayanagar?” the Court asked, according to Bar and Bench.
When the counsel further argued that his client was only caught cultivating the plant, and not for consumption or sale of it, the court asked, "Then why were you growing it? Passion, is it?”
Chandrashekar has been given further time to explain why he had been growing such large quantities of cannabis in his backyard. “Let me see this first. If there is nothing, we will quash the matter there itself but first, you should say how it started growing there,” the Court said while posting the matter for further hearing on December 4, Bar and Bench reported.
Recently, a Bengaluru couple was arrested after it was spotted that they were growing ganja in their balcony garden in videos they posted on Facebook.
According to a report in Indian Express, police raided the couples house based on the video.
The couple later confessed to the crime, and 54 grams of cannabis was found.