The special court in Kochi considering the sensational Kerala gold smuggling case, being probed by the National Investigation Agency (NIA), has rejected the bail plea of key accused Swapna Suresh. The court rejected the bail plea stating that prima facie there is evidence to show that Swapna Suresh has involvement in smuggling gold.
According to sources, the bail plea was rejected by the court considering the case diary and evidence submitted by the NIA team. The bail plea was rejected under the section 43D(5) of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) which states that such a plea can be rejected if the case diary opines that there are reasonable grounds for believing that the accusation against such person is prima facie true.
Notably, while rejecting the bail plea, the court also observed that prima facie it is clear that the alleged crime committed by Swapna comes under the charged provisions of UAPA. Therefore, the court said that all the charges including the UAPA will sustain. The court also said that gold smuggling can be classified as a terrorist activity.