Chandra Importers Inc

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Charge:	Drug Related (Possession or sale)
Sentence:	10 years
Years Imprisoned:
Year Crime:	2008
Year Convicted:	2014
Year Cleared:	2017
U.S. State or Country of Crime:	India
County or Region of Crime:	Tamil Nadu
City of Crime:	Coimbatore
Result:	Judicially Exonerated
Summary of Case:	"D. Ramakrishnan and Chandra Importers Inc. were codefendants wrongly convicted on April 25, 2014 of drug trafficing charges in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India in 2008. Ramakrishnan's prosecution was based on the allegation that from 2006 to early 2008 he used his company Chandra Importers Inc., to purchase psychotropic substances from local pharmacies in Coimbatore and supplied them to customers in various countries at the direction of an online pharmacy run by an Indian from New York. The evidence against Ramakrishnan was obtained in a police search carried out at 9 p.m. on January 25, 2008. The trial judge rejected Ramakrishnan's challenge to the admissibility of the evidence on the basis that under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act of 1985 a search can only be carried out between sunrise and sunset -- and his search was executed after sunset. Ramakrishnan was sentenced to 10 years in prison sfter his conviction following a bench trial. Ramakrishnan appealed. In December 2017 the Madras High Court set-aside Ramakrishnan's conviction on the basis the trial judge erred by not supressing the prosecution's evidence from the search that was illegal because it was carried out after sunset. In the Court's ruling, Justice C. T. Selvam wrote that the provisions of the NDPS Act must be complied with scrupulously since it is a draconian law. He noted that the law permits a search warrant to be issued at night, but Section 43 specifically limits a search to be conducted between sunrise and sunset, and that if not followed in letter and spirit, the provisions of the law would become dead letters. Justice Selvam also cited a 1999 Supreme Court judgment wherein it was held that the safeguard provided provided under Section 42 of the Act must be followed scrupulously."
Conviction Caused By:	Illegal search.
Innocence Proved By:	"In December 2017 the Madras High Court set-aside Ramakrishnan's conviction on the basis the trial judge erred by not supressing the prosecution's evidence from the search that was illegal because it was carried out after sunset. In the Court's ruling, Justice C. T. Selvam wrote that the provisions of the NDPS Act must be complied with scrupulously since it is a draconian law. He noted that the law permits a search warrant to be issued at night, but Section 43 specifically limits a search to be conducted between sunrise and sunset, and that if not followed in letter and spirit, the provisions of the law would become dead letters. Justice Selvam also cited a 1999 Supreme Court judgment wherein it was held that the safeguard provided provided under Section 42 of the Act must be followed scrupulously."
Defendant Aided By:
Compensation Awarded:
Was Perpetrator Identified?
Age When Imprisoned:
Age When Released:
Sex:	Business
Skin/Ethnicity:	Indian
Information Source 1:	"D.Ramakrishnan Vs. Intelligence Officer, No. Crl.A.No.256 of 2014 (Madras High Court, Dec.11, 2017) (Judgment by The Honorable Mr.Justice C. T.Selvams setting aside conviction based on evidence obtained through an illegal search.)"
Information Location 1:	http://judis.nic.in/HCS/list_new2.asp?FileName=362903&Table_Main_Txt=cheordtext
Information Source 2:	"Conviction under NDPS Act set aside, By Special Correspondent, The Hindu, December 17, 2017"
Information Location 2:	http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/tamil-nadu/conviction-under-ndps-act-set-aside/article21825627.ece
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Chandra Importers Inc

Charge:

Drug Related (Possession or sale)

Sentence:

10 years

Years Imprisoned:

Year Crime:

2008

Year Convicted:

2014

Year Cleared:

2017

U.S. State or Country of Crime:

India

County or Region of Crime:

Tamil Nadu

City of Crime:

Coimbatore

Result:

Judicially Exonerated

Summary of Case:

Conviction Caused By:

Illegal search.

Innocence Proved By:

Defendant Aided By:

Compensation Awarded:

Was Perpetrator Identified?

Age When Imprisoned:

Age When Released:

Sex:

Business

Skin/Ethnicity:

Indian

Information Source 1:

"D.Ramakrishnan Vs. Intelligence Officer, No. Crl.A.No.256 of 2014 (Madras High Court, Dec.11, 2017) (Judgment by The Honorable Mr.Justice C. T.Selvams setting aside conviction based on evidence obtained through an illegal search.)"

Information Location 1:

http://judis.nic.in/HCS/list_new2.asp?FileName=362903&Table_Main_Txt=cheordtext

Information Source 2:

"Conviction under NDPS Act set aside, By Special Correspondent, The Hindu, December 17, 2017"

Information Location 2:

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/tamil-nadu/conviction-under-ndps-act-set-aside/article21825627.ece

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Book Information:

Book About Case (2):

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