The Bombay High Court on Wednesday has indicated that it will annul the FIR against actor Mamta Kulkarni in a drug haul case due to insufficient evidence. While a detailed order has yet to be issued, the court has signaled that Kulkarni’s request to dismiss the case will be granted.
Kulkarni, whose reputation has been tarnished by the high-profile case, contends that she has been unfairly targeted. She argued in court that she was “made a scapegoat in the drug scam.”
The bench of Justices Bharti Dangre and Manjusha Deshpande, reviewing Kulkarni’s plea, observed that the FIR contained only unsubstantiated allegations and lacked proof for the prosecution to support its claims.
The case dates back to April 12, 2016, when Thane Police intercepted two cars carrying 2-3 kg of Ephedrine, a controlled substance. The drivers, identified as Mayur and Sagar, were arrested. The seized consignment, valued over Rs 80 lakh, was linked to fake identity cards from a pharmaceutical company.
During the investigation, ten individuals were arrested, with seven, including Kulkarni, listed as wanted. The police alleged that Kulkarni attended a meeting with accused Vicky Goswami and others in Kenya in January 2016. This was purportedly corroborated by the statement of another accused, Jain, who was also present at the meeting.
The conspiracy reportedly involved transporting Ephedrine from Maharashtra to Kenya to manufacture Methamphetamine, which would be sold globally. The prosecution claimed that all accused made significant illicit profits from drug sales.
Kulkarni’s plea, filed by Advocate Madhav Thorat, argued that the accusations were based solely on co-accused statements and lacked substantive evidence. Thorat highlighted that there were no bank transactions linking Kulkarni to the conspiracy, which even the prosecution conceded. He also noted that many statements were either inadmissible or hearsay, lacking evidentiary value.
