"Put Their Careers In Jeopardy": Karnataka HC Directs Disciplinary Inquiry Against Policemen For False NDPS Case Against Students
|The Karnataka High Court, while quashing an NDPS case, directed to initiate departmental inquiry against police officers.
The Court found that the charge sheet, in this case, was filed with mala fide intentio by the Station House Officer and the Police Sub-Inspector of Varthur Police Station
The Bench of Justice M Nagaprasanna observed, “There are illegalities whole hog that have pervaded in the proceedings. The petitioners at the relevant point in time were students. Due to the act of three officers, one the complainant, two the officer in-charge of the police station and three, the officer who conducted mahazar, the petitioners are suffering even today. The matter was moved, on an application filed by the 2nd petitioner that, he is losing his employment opportunities overseas, due to the sword of a narcotics case hanging on his head. The result of these officers indulging in blatant illegality is that, the career of the petitioners is put to jeopardy.”
Advocate Shashi Kiran V appeared for the Petitioners, whereas Additional SPP Jagadeesha BN appeared for the Respondents.
The petitioners filed a petition under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, seeking to quash the criminal proceedings pending before the Judicial Magistrate arising out of offences punishable under Section 27 of the Act.
The Second Respondent, who was a police officer, registered a complaint against the Petitioners that he received information through a credible informant that a few persons were consuming ganja. The complainant was said to have informed the higher officials and caught the petitioners consuming ganjaby exchanging chimneys. Therefore, a complaint was registered. The Blood samples of these petitioners were drawn, as the fulcrum of the complaint was the consumption of ganja. It was opined by the Forensic Science Laboratory (‘FSL’) on testing of blood samples that the blood did not contain any contraband substance, i.e. ganja.
The Court, after perusing the content of the charge sheet, said, “If consumption has to be proved, the primary evidence would be the presence of contraband substance in the blood sample. The blood sample is drawn and sent to FSL and the report of FSL indicates no contraband substance of any kind in the blood samples of the petitioners. The charge sheet, therefore, with mala fide intention, is deliberately filed by the Station House Officer and the Police Sub-Inspector of Varthur Police Station.”
The Station House Officer, who was summoned by the Court, admitted his mistake. The Court said that for the mistake committed by the Station House Officer or the Investigating Officer who have deliberately and wantonly filed the charge sheet against these petitioners, the careers of the petitioners are put in jeopardy. The Petitioners have suffered ignominy for five years in a case concerning narcotics. It was averred in the petition that they have lost several job opportunities on the score that these proceedings were pending for the last five years.
The Court placed its reliance on the judgments of the Supreme Court in Vijaysinh Chandubha Jadeja v. State Of Gujarat (2011), Arif Khan v. State of Uttrakhand (2018) and Ranjan Kumar Chadha v. State of Himachal Pradesh (2023) and said that the alleged 15 grams of ganja found in possession of the petitioners was not sent to FSL and the seizure was not recorded before a Gazetted Officer or the Magistrate as is necessary in law, which bears interpretation by the Apex Court in the judgments.
The Court refuted the submission of the Prosecution that it was the case of Section 20 of the Act and said that Sections 50 and 52A of the Act were given a go-by while drawing the Petitioners into the web of the crime.
“Sections 50 and 52A apart, as observed hereinabove, it is the deliberate act on the part of both the Investigating Officer and the Empowered Officer who have filed the charge sheet before the concerned Court to face the wrath of criminal justice system for maliciously prosecuting these petitioners. The maliciousness is apparent on the face of the record. The report of FSL in unequivocal terms indicates that blood samples did not contain any contraband substance or even its derivatives, but the Police filed the charge sheet recording that FSL report has confirmed presence of contraband substance.”, the Court held.
Therefore, the Court directed the DG & IG or the Secretary of the Home Department to forthwith issue a circular notifying all the Empowered Officers who are empowered to conduct search and seize contraband substances to mandatorily follow Sections 50 and 52A of the Act and their interpretation by the Apex Court in Ranjan Kumar(supra) in letter and spirit, failing which, disciplinary proceedings will be initiated against them.
The Court remarked, “While it is important that menace of either narcotic drugs or psychotropic substances be curbed by dealing them with iron hand, it is equally important that curbing shall be in accordance with law, by following the procedure established by law, as any violation of procedure would lead to obliteration of proceedings that would be initiated against the accused who would get away of loopholes left in law by the Empowered Officers.”
Accordingly, the Court allowed the criminal petition and quashed the pending proceedings against the Petitioners.
Cause Title: Hanumantha v. State of Karnataka (Neutral Citation:2024:KHC:37322)
Appearances:
Petitioners: Advocate Shashi Kiran V
Respondents: Additional SPP Jagadeesha BN