The Karnataka High Court witnessed a curious courtroom exchange on Tuesday, November 19, when a 67-year-old Bengaluru resident, sought the quashing of a case against him for allegedly growing over 27 kilograms of ganja (cannabis) in his backyard.

Chandrashekar, a resident of Jayanagar in southern Bengaluru, claimed ignorance of the plants’ presence and argued they may have grown naturally through pollination.

Chandrashekar’s counsel contended that the backyard of his house had been unused, and the cannabis plants might have sprouted on their own. However, Justice M Nagaprasanna expressed skepticism, questioning how such a substantial quantity of ganja could have appeared without deliberate cultivation.

“27 kg 360 grams from plants found in the backyard? Was he growing trees or plants for this quantity? Your ground is that pollen might have fallen. But you live in Jayanagar... it is a concrete jungle. How is any cross-pollination possible in Jayanagar?” the Court asked, according to Bar and Bench.

The State’s counsel argued that Chandrashekar’s actions constituted a “serious offence against society.” In response, the defence highlighted that the senior citizen had been charged solely with cultivation and not with the consumption or sale of the illicit material.

To his, Justice Nagaprasanna scathingly remarked, “Then why were you growing it? Passion, is it?”

However, the Court granted the accused additional time to explain the origin of the cannabis plants.

“Let me see this first. If there is nothing, we will quash the matter there itself, but first, you should say how it started growing there,” the judge remarked, adjourning the hearing to December 4.