In an extraordinary twist that reads like a legal satire, a Mumbai court has acquitted five men accused of trafficking a massive 130 kilograms of ganja after the crucial evidence against them—the drug samples themselves—was devoured by rats while in court storage. The bizarre incident highlighted a cascade of procedural failures that led Special Judge H M Bhosale to dismiss the case entirely.
A Comedy of Errors and Gnawed Evidence
The case dates back to a January 31, 2021 operation by the Anti-Narcotic Cell (ANC) in Worli. The accused—Rajesh Jaiswal, Durgaprasad Yeddu, Mohammed Hanif Khan, Mohammed Nisar Shaikh, and Nijamuddin Shaikh—were allegedly intercepted in an SUV carrying heavy bags of contraband. They faced the prospect of years in prison if convicted.
However, when the trial reached its conclusion, a shocking discovery was made. The envelopes that were supposed to contain smaller samples of the seized ganja, meant for forensic analysis during the trial, were found empty. A report from the court superintendent stated the samples had "probably been gnawed by rats." Judge Bhosale noted this in his 38-page judgment, which painted a picture of a case built on sand.
While the bulk of the seized drugs had been destroyed earlier, these specific samples were preserved for the trial. Their disappearance meant the "primary evidence was not at all placed before the court," the judge concluded. He ordered the empty envelopes, which still contained small particles, to be sent back to the ANC for proper disposal as per narcotics rules.
Fundamental Rights Ignored and Legal Definitions Botched
The judge's scrutiny revealed deeper, more serious flaws than just rodent-related mishaps. A fundamental safeguard under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act was violated. The accused had demanded to be searched in the presence of a gazetted officer, a statutory right meant to ensure transparency. The police ignored this demand.
Judge Bhosale stated, "This fact clearly establishes that despite specific demand by the accused, they were not produced before the nearest gazetted officer." He went further, observing that official letters claiming the men had waived this right appeared to be "manipulated documents."
Adding to the prosecution's woes was a basic misunderstanding of the law itself. The NDPS Act defines "ganja" specifically as the flowering or fruiting tops of the cannabis plant, explicitly excluding seeds and leaves when not accompanied by the tops. The police and chemical analyser, however, failed to make this distinction when weighing the alleged "commercial quantity."
The judge expressed dismay at this scientific negligence, noting, "It is quite painful to note that the chemical analyser analysed leaves and seeds... and opined that said substance is ganja." This error alone undermined the very foundation of the charges regarding the quantity of drugs.
Delays, Discrepancies, and a System of "Paper-Only" Compliance
The investigation was marred by inexplicable delays and suspicious discrepancies. The mandatory inventory process was conducted a staggering two and a half years after the arrests. By the time a magistrate certified the evidence, the recorded weight of the seized drugs had mysteriously decreased by more than 2 kilograms.
Furthermore, samples drawn before the magistrate were never actually sent to a laboratory for testing. Coupled with the rat-gnawed evidence, this left the court with no reliable proof. Judge Bhosale characterised the entire police operation as a series of "paper-only compliances," where documents were prepared just to show procedural steps were followed on record.
He remarked that the documents were "only prepared to show the compliance on paper" and dismissed the testimony of senior police officers as "not worth to rely upon." The cumulative effect of these failures—lost evidence, violated rights, botched science, and unexplained delays—left the court with no choice but to acquit all five accused, bringing a bizarre and revealing case to a close.
