The Madhya Pradesh High Court recently awarded ₹10 lakh compensation to a businessman who spent 57 days in jail after airport security equipment wrongly flagged packets of branded Garam Masala and Aamchur powder as heroin and MDEA [Ajay Singh v. State of Madhya Pradesh & Ors.]
Justice Deepak Khot held that the State was vicariously liable for the businessman’s illegal incarceration, which was a result of faulty forensic infrastructure and delays in chemical examination of the seized material.
“Because of the lethargy and not having the standard laboratories in the State of M.P., the petitioner had to suffer incarceration for 57 days,” the Court observed.
The case dates back to May 2010, when businessman Ajay Singh was travelling from Bhopal to Delhi en route to Malaysia. During a routine security check at Bhopal airport, packets of branded aamchur powder and garam masala in his baggage triggered alerts on an Explosive Trace Detector (ETD) machine.
The machine indicated that the packets possibly contained 1-4 per cent heroin and 10 per cent MDEA, a psychotropic substance.
Singh was immediately arrested under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act (NDPS Act).
The seized samples were first sent to the Regional Forensic Science Laboratory (RFSL) at Bhopal.
However, the laboratory returned them after ten days, stating that it lacked facilities to test MDEA. The samples were then forwarded to the Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL) at Hyderabad.
On June 30, 2010, the CFSL report confirmed that the packets did not contain any contraband substance.
Singh was released on July 2, 2010 after spending 57 days in custody. The police later filed a closure report, which was accepted by the special NDPS court.
Singh then moved the High Court seeking compensation for illegal incarceration, mental agony and reputational harm caused by the incident.
Before the High Court, Singh argued that the ETD machine was unsuitable for Indian conditions and had wrongly identified aromatic Indian spices as narcotic substances.
He also pointed out that subsequent tests conducted on other brands of Garam Masala and Aamchur had similarly triggered false alarms.
The Court noted that the ETD machine was only “indicative” in nature and not conclusive proof of possession of narcotics.
“It was incumbent upon the Authority to produce the petitioner with the material before the Investigating Agency immediately to further find out the truth,” the Court said.
It held that while the initial arrest may have been based on reasonable suspicion, the prolonged incarceration resulted from the State’s inability to promptly verify the substance through proper forensic facilities.
The Court found that both the mobile forensic unit and the RFSL lacked adequate infrastructure to conduct the necessary examination.
“When cases like in hand are sent for the investigation/examination to RFSL, no opinion was given and finally when the samples were sent to CFSL it was found that it does not contain contraband, which took about 57 days of petitioner’s life suffered in jail for no fault on his part,” it observed.
Relying on Supreme Court judgments, the High Court reiterated that compensation can be awarded in public law jurisdiction for violation of the fundamental right to life and personal liberty under Article 21 of the Constitution.
Accordingly, it directed the State government to pay ₹10 lakh to Singh within three months.
The Court also issued wider directions to prevent similar incidents in future.
It directed the Chief Secretary of Madhya Pradesh to inspect all Regional Forensic Science Laboratories within one month and ensure that they are equipped with necessary equipment and qualified personnel for scientific examination of prohibited substances.
[Read Order]