Kasaragod: Justice Ziyad Rahman A A, the Kerala High Court's administrative judge for Kasaragod district, has orally instructed Kasaragod District and Sessions Judge Sanu S Panicker to reconsider his order requiring a drug case accused to hold a placard in Kanhangad town for five days as a condition for bail.

The order, delivered on January 9, asked Abdul Safwan S (25), a native of Padanakkad in Kanhangad, to appear before the investigating officer, Hosdurg Station House Officer, on January 14 with a Malayalam placard that read: "Say no to liquor and drugs. They rob you of yourself, your friends, and your family."

The Sessions Judge directed Safwan to stand with the placard from 10 am to 1 pm for five consecutive days at locations chosen by the investigating officer (IO). The court further instructed the IO to submit a compliance report and warned that non-adherence would result in the cancellation of bail. Safwan, however, did not appear before the investigating officer.

On Friday, January 17, his counsel Adv A Manikandan filed a petition before the Sessions Court requesting the judge to revoke the condition of holding a placard in a public place as a requirement for bail. Manikandan said he was not aware of the administrative judge taking up Safwan's case. "But we filed an appeal because we found the condition odd," he said.

Adv Manikandan said Sessions Judge Panicker was attending a training programme in Kochi and will take up the case only on his return on Tuesday, January 21.

According to sources, the Administrative Judge for Kasaragod Justice Rahman orally gave the direction to the Sessions Judge. Safwan's appeal was filed against the backdrop of this direction, said the sources. Safwan was allegedly caught with 3.06gm of MDMA, a psychoactive party drug, on May 18, 2024, and spent nearly eight months in prison.