Aiswarya Devi

On the court record

A criminal-defence practice concentrated on drug trafficking with an accompanying firearms dimension.

Aiswarya Devi appears in the High Court (Mahkamah Tinggi) and the Court of Appeal (Mahkamah Rayuan), and the reported decisions describe a criminal-defence practice concentrated on serious drug matters. The charges arise under "seksyen 39B(1)(a) Akta Dadah Berbahaya 1952" (section 39B(1)(a) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952), in which she appears in the defence of the accused and as respondent, in matters that also engage a firearms element under the special-penalties framework.

The reported matters turn on the recurring architecture of a drug-trafficking prosecution. The possession and trafficking presumptions of the Act — including the presumption in "seksyen 37(da)" — are in issue, together with the requirement that the prosecution establish actual possession and knowledge of the drug exhibits before any presumption can be triggered, and the adverse-inference provision in "seksyen 114(g) Akta Keterangan 1950" (section 114(g) of the Evidence Act 1950). Where a firearms charge accompanies the drug charge, the argument engages the interaction between the two statutory schemes and their respective penalties.

Acting for the accused and as respondent, the reported task is to test whether the prosecution proved possession and knowledge, whether the statutory presumptions were properly drawn, and whether the evidence was sufficient to support a conviction. The common-intention provision in "seksyen 34 Kanun Keseksaan" (section 34 of the Penal Code) arises where more than one accused is charged, requiring the individual thread of possession to be separated accused by accused.

The overall profile is a criminal-defence practice concentrated on drug trafficking, with an accompanying firearms dimension, conducted in the High Court and Court of Appeal. The matters turn on the possession and trafficking presumptions of the Dangerous Drugs Act, the requirement of proof of possession and knowledge, and the treatment of withheld evidence, rather than on any civil or public-law question, marking a focused serious-crime defence practice.