[NDPS case] Bombay High Court grants bail to Nigerian national who spent two years in jail due to typing error in forensic report

The Bombay High Court on Wednesday granted bail to a Nigerian national arrested in 2020 under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act after it discovered that there was a typing error in the forensic analysis report of the seized substances [Novafor Samuel Inoamaobi vs The State of Maharashtra]..The applicant was arrested after Anti Terrorism Squad (ATS) recovered white powder and some pills from him during a raid.A report by by the Assistant Director of a Forensic Science Lab in Mumbai, said that the powder contained Lidocaine and Tapentadol whereas the pills contained Caffeine.The report said that the former fell under the purview of the NDPS Act.More than a year after the report was issued, the Assistant Director realised that he had incorrectly written that the chemicals seized were covered by the Act when they were not. After he discovered the mistake, he sent a letter to the relevant police inspector clarifying that it was a typing error.Justice Bharati Dangre, after holding that the applicant deserves to be released on bail, said that the error needed to be looked at seriously and that the applicant could not have been detained. "Liberty of an individual is of paramount importance and it is the fulcrum of the Indian democracy. Recognized as a fundamental right, enshrined in Article 21, it is available to every person, citizens and foreigners alike. The incarceration of the applicant, with the above clarification, has therefore, become unlawful, as, but for this report, no offence could have been made out against him," the Court said. .She further stated that State authorities, especially the ones implementing statutes like the NDPS Act are expected to behave in a responsible manner."The State Authorities, though supreme and in-charge of the law and order situation, which includes implementation of various statutes intended to achieve specific purpose and particularly a special statute like NDPS are expected to behave in a responsible manner," the Court underlined. Assistant Public Prosecutor (APP) AA Takalkar attempted to justify the detention by highlighting that the applicant was a Nigerian national and had criminal antecedents, out of which one was under the NDPS Act.However, the Court refused to keep him detained on those grounds, holding that due procedure must be followed even when depriving a foreign national of his liberty."Though the learned APP attempt to justify by stating that the present applicant is a Nigerian citizen, and he has antecedents to his credit and one of which, is under the NDPS Act, merely because of the same, he cannot be incarcerated as the State is expected to follow due procedure while depriving even a foreign national of his liberty," the Court made it clear.As the raid did not lead to recovery of contraband, the Court deemed the incarceration to be unnecessary and asked the State government to devise a proposal to compensate the applicant."Let this order be brought to the notice of the Addl. Secretary of the Home Department so as to outlay the manner in which it proposes to compensate the applicant or else, this Court would determine the quantum of compensation, as it deems fit," it directed..[Read Order]