Sharjah court denies relief to Mumbai-based DJ Clayton in drugs case

In a significant blow to Indian authorities the Sharjah Federal Court of Appeal has denied the application of Mumbaibased disc jockey DJ Clayton Rodrigues who was falsely implicated by Mumbaibased baker Anthony Paul and his associate Ravi Bobate also known as Prasad Actress Chrisann Pereira faced a similar situation but was acquitted by the Sharjah court based on the Mumbai Crime Branchrsquos investigationClayton another victim of Paulrsquos schemes was arrested in February and received a 25year sentence from the lower court in May this year The familyrsquos only hope now rests with the Supreme Court of Sharjah while Indian authorities intensify efforts to highlight the framing orchestrated by those who targeted Pereira earlierThe threebench Sharjah Federal Court of Appeal affirming the lower courtrsquos decision stated in its order accessed by midday rdquoThe court in its judicial role sought to comprehend the casersquos reality assess its evidence weigh it and adopt what it deemed appropriate Extracting and prioritising the truth is pivotal to the discretionary authority of the trial court as long as such extraction is permissible and has its proven origin in the papers The judge retains the right to establish the facts of the caserdquoThe order further stated that the criminal court has broad authority and complete freedom to verify whether the crime has been proven and to determine the accusedrsquos relationship and connection with it ldquoThis is the standard in criminal trials unless Islamic law or other laws restrict it to specific evidence The firstdegree court documented and clarified the circumstances of the case including all the legal elements of the crimes by arresting the accused at Sharjah International AirportrdquoRejecting the appeal Rodrigues the court said that the evidence against himmdashincluding the narcotic substance and poppy seedsmdashwas presented as valid and corroborated by the papers It said that based on the report of the Drug Enforcement Administration and after his arrest by the General Administration of Narcotics in Sharjah Rodrigues was charged with bringing a narcotic substance Indian marijuana of more than twenty grams in unauthorised cases and bringing more than five poppy plants ldquoThe appellant was apprehended at Sharjah International Airport for bringing narcotic drugs from the Republic of Indiardquo it saidldquoDuring the public prosecutionrsquos investigations the accused admitted that these items were found hidden inside a cake in his possession while being searched by Sharjah Airport Customs employeesrdquo it saidldquoUpon questioning the accused confessed to the two charges against him He claimed that a person named Barsat Prasad is wrongly spelt in the order as per sources in the Crime Branch had given him the items but did not disclose Barsatrsquos identity This claim was deemed a defence strategy to escape punishment as the defence witness provided only unsubstantiated statements which were consequently disregardedrdquo the order statedAccording to the order at a session on May 24 2023 the court sentenced Clayton Godfrey Rodrigues to life imprisonment and a fine of 500000 dirhams for the two charges against him along with deportation from the country after executing the sentence confiscation of the seized items and payment of the judicial fees Rodrigues appealed against the judgment but it was upheld by the Federal Court of Appeal SharjahDuring the session in May the court conducted a video call with Rodrigues from his prison cell with his lawyer and translator attending The court inquired about the charges against Rodrigues and his reasons for appealing Initially he admitted to the charges but later denied them claiming that a person named Barsat in India had given him the items to deliver to someone in Dubai and he was unaware of the bagrsquos contentsA request was made to hear the defence witnesses and the court postponed the session to August 21 for this purposeAt this session Rodrigues accompanied by his lawyer and sworn translator was presented via video conferencing Defence witness Kunzalves Kidin was also present The court also examined one Indian witness who told the court that Rodrigues was unaware of the contraband concealed inside the consignmentThe family of Rodrigues is now planning to move to the Supreme Court as there is clear evidence that he was framed by Paul25 yrsJail time DJ Clayton faces if convicted