In Bengaluru, the Karnataka High Court has criticized three police officers for wrongly accusing two students under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, despite evidence from a forensic science laboratory proving their innocence. Justice M Nagaprasanna, while examining a petition from students Hanumantha and Manjunatha from Gunjur near Varthur, expressed serious concerns over the impact of false allegations made by the police on their lives. The court has ordered disciplinary action or a departmental inquiry against the station house officer (SHO), the officer who filed the complaint, and the investigating officer. A report on the action taken is expected within 12 weeks. The incident occurred on August 11, 2019, when probationary cop Raj Kumar of Varthur police station reported that he had apprehended the two students for allegedly using ganja near Krupanidhi College. Blood samples were collected and a complaint was filed under Section 27 of the NDPS Act. However, a subsequent FSL report showed no traces of narcotics in their blood. Despite this, the investigating officer proceeded to file a chargesheet, resulting in a special court issuing summonses to the students. The students contended they were framed, leading to significant personal and professional consequences, including missed job opportunities. The SHO of Varthur police station acknowledged the error in filing the chargesheet during the court proceedings. Justice Nagaprasanna identified various irregularities in the case after reviewing the evidence.The judge highlighted that due to the failure of the police officers to send the alleged 15 grams of ganja to the FSL, lack of proper seizure records, and the exclusion of complainant Raj Kumar from the list of witnesses in the chargesheet, the petitioners continue to suffer. The judge pointed out the evident malpractice in the case. Despite the FSL report clearly stating that the blood samples did not contain any illegal substances, the police inaccurately documented it in the chargesheet. The judge emphasized that the responsible officers must face disciplinary inquiry for jeopardizing the lives of the students involved. The court also instructed the competent authority to issue a circular mandating all empowered officers to strictly follow the relevant sections of the NDPS Act and the Supreme Court's interpretation in the Ranjan Kumar Chadha case. Failure to comply would result in disciplinary action. The importance of combatting the drug issue through proper legal procedures was stressed by the court, emphasizing that any procedural breaches could jeopardize the proceedings against the accused.