In Bengaluru, the Karnataka High Court has denounced three police officers for wrongly charging two students under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, despite a forensic science laboratory report proving their innocence. Justice M Nagaprasanna expressed serious concerns over the detrimental impact of the false allegations on the lives of Hanumantha and Manjunatha, both students residing near Varthur in the city's tech corridor. 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. Additionally, a report on the actions taken is required to be submitted within 12 weeks.

The incident occurred on August 11, 2019, when probationary officer Raj Kumar reported to his superiors at Varthur police station that he had apprehended the two students for allegedly consuming ganja near Krupanidhi College. A chargesheet was filed under Section 27 of the NDPS Act, and blood samples were taken from the students. However, the subsequent FSL report indicated no presence of narcotics in their blood. Nevertheless, the investigating officer proceeded to file the chargesheet under the same section, leading to legal proceedings and negative consequences for the students.

The students argued that they were falsely implicated, resulting in significant personal and professional setbacks, including missed job opportunities. The SHO of Varthur police station admitted the mistake in filing the chargesheet during the court proceedings. Justice Nagaprasanna, upon reviewing the case materials, identified multiple irregularities, emphasized the misconduct of the police officers, and called for appropriate actions to be taken.The judge highlighted that the petitioners are still facing repercussions due to the negligence of the police officers who failed to send the alleged 15 grams of marijuana for forensic analysis, did not maintain proper seizure records, and omitted complainant Raj Kumar from the list of witnesses in the chargesheet. The judge pointed out that the actions of these officers had caused harm to the petitioners. The judge emphasized the misconduct evident in the case, noting that the report from the Forensic Science Laboratory clearly stated that the blood samples did not contain any illicit substances, contradicting the information in the chargesheet filed by the police.

The judge also directed the disciplinary authority to conduct an inquiry into the conduct of the station house officer, empowered officer, investigating officer, complainant, and the officer who prepared the seizure report for jeopardizing the lives of the young students involved in the case. Additionally, a directive was issued for a circular to be released by the competent authority, instructing empowered officers to strictly adhere to Sections 50 and 52A of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act and the Supreme Court's ruling in the Ranjan Kumar Chadha case. Failure to comply would result in disciplinary action against the officers.

The court emphasized the importance of combatting drug-related issues while upholding legal procedures. Justice Nagaprasanna noted that any procedural violations could lead to the dismissal of charges against the accused individuals, enabling them to evade accountability due to errors made by the empowered officers.