The Karnataka High Court has recently ordered the State government to initiate a departmental inquiry against three Bengaluru police officers for falsely implicating two students in a drug possession case. The court discovered that the officers had wrongfully charged the students with possessing psychotropic drugs and filed a chargesheet against them.
On September 10, Justice M Nagaprasanna instructed the State to submit an action taken report within 12 weeks. The court expressed concern that the students’ careers had been jeopardized, as they faced public disgrace and lost job opportunities over the last five years due to the pending narcotics case.
The court also noted a pattern of police violations of Sections 50 and 52A of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act (NDPS), which outline the conditions for conducting searches. Justice Nagaprasanna directed senior officials, including the Director General of Police and the Inspector General of Karnataka Police, to issue a circular reminding officers to strictly follow these guidelines.
The case involved a 2019 petition filed by the two students, seeking to quash the criminal proceedings initiated by the Varthur police, who accused them of smoking ganja mixed with cigarette powder. However, the students denied the allegations, and forensic tests on their blood samples revealed no traces of psychotropic substances.
Although the police and State claimed to have seized 15 grams of ganja from the students, the court found no evidence supporting this claim. Additionally, the forensic report did not show the presence of any contraband in the students’ blood samples.
The court concluded that the case appeared to be fabricated and directed the State to proceed with a departmental inquiry against the officers involved, stating that the malicious intent was evident. Despite the forensic report clearing the students, the police had still filed a chargesheet falsely claiming the presence of contraband.
The petitioners were represented by Advocate Shashi Kiran V, while Additional Special Public Prosecutor Jagadeesha BN appeared for the State and Karnataka police.
