In Bengaluru, the Karnataka High Court has strongly criticized three police officers for wrongly accusing two students under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, despite a forensic science laboratory report proving their innocence. The students, Hanumantha and Manjunatha from Gunjur near Varthur, were victims of false allegations by the police, which disrupted their lives. Justice M Nagaprasanna, upon hearing a petition from the students, expressed deep concern over the situation and urged disciplinary action or a departmental inquiry against the involved officers – the station house officer (SHO), the complainant officer, and the investigating officer. The court requested an action-taken report within 12 weeks.

The incident took place on August 11, 2019, when probationary cop Raj Kumar alleged to his superiors at Varthur police station that he caught Hanumantha and Manjunatha consuming marijuana near Krupanidhi College. Even though no narcotics were found in their blood samples according to the FSL report, the investigating officer went ahead and filed a chargesheet under NDPS Act Section 27. This led to summons being issued to the students by a special court. The students protested their innocence, asserting that they were falsely implicated, causing them to suffer personal and professional setbacks – they missed out on job opportunities, including those in the US.

During the court proceedings, the SHO admitted the error in filing the chargesheet, acknowledging that it contradicted the FSL report. Justice Nagaprasanna reviewed the case materials and identified various illegalities, expressing serious disapproval of the officers' actions.The judge highlighted that due to the negligence of the police officers in various aspects such as not sending the alleged 15 grams of cannabis for forensic analysis, the lack of proper seizure records, and the omission of a key witness from the chargesheet, the petitioners continue to suffer. The judge noted that the actions of the officers were evident in the records. Despite the Forensic Science Laboratory's report clearly stating that the samples did not contain any illegal substances, the police falsely claimed otherwise in the chargesheet. The judge emphasized that the officers involved should be held accountable for jeopardizing the lives of the young students by initiating a departmental inquiry. Additionally, the judge ordered the competent authority to circulate a directive mandating all officers to strictly adhere to relevant sections of the NDPS Act and the Supreme Court's rulings to prevent any procedural violations that could jeopardize legal proceedings against the accused. Justice Nagaprasanna stressed the importance of combating drug abuse while following legal protocols to prevent any potential loopholes that could allow offenders to evade justice.