The Kerala High Court has provided significant relief to two foreign students from Tanzania, one of whom is the son of a Tanzanian High Court judge, by granting them bail after they spent 270 days in judicial custody. The students were arrested in connection with a Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) case originating in Kozhikode, Kerala.
Case Background and Arrest Details
The case dates back to January 21 this year, when two individuals were apprehended with 221.89 grams of MDMA from a lodge within the limits of the Kunnamangalam police station in Kozhikode city. A subsequent police investigation suggested the involvement of several other accused in the drug procurement network.
The two Tanzanian nationals, identified as David Ntemi Kilekamajenda, 22, son of Tanzanian High Court judge Ntemi N Kilemamajenga, and his friend Atka Haruna Myonga, 21, were accused of financing the purchase of the contraband. Both were students at a private university in Phagwara, Punjab.
Based on these allegations, they were arrested from Phagwara on March 13 and produced before a court in Kozhikode two days later. They have remained in judicial custody since that date.
Legal Proceedings and Bail Rejection
In June this year, the Kerala High Court had dismissed their initial bail application. The prosecution's primary argument at the time was that more than Rs 50 lakh had been transferred into Atka Haruna Myonga's bank account from one of the suspects over a four-month period.
However, in a hearing on December 18, a bench led by Justice Bechu Kurian Thomas took a different view. The court noted critical procedural and evidentiary lapses in the case presented by the prosecution.
Court's Rationale for Granting Bail
The High Court's order highlighted two major points. First, it observed that the grounds for arrest were not communicated to the students at the time of their arrest in Phagwara. The records presented by the investigating officer failed to show any material indicating such communication.
Second, and more crucially, the court found the evidence against the petitioners insufficient. The only material linking them to the alleged offence and the other accused was a financial transaction. The court order specified a transfer of Rs 42,500 from the second accused (not named) to David Kilekamajenda through a Canara Bank NRI account.
Justice Thomas stated, "The final report does not indicate any other material to connect the petitioners with the offence alleged or with the other accused."
In its reasoning, the High Court invoked a Supreme Court verdict, clarifying that mere financial transactions between accused individuals cannot be the sole basis for implicating them under the NDPS Act. Such transactions can only serve to corroborate other substantive evidence, which was absent in this case.
Bail Conditions and Future Proceedings
While granting bail, the court imposed strict conditions on the two students:
- They are prohibited from leaving India without explicit permission from the jurisdictional court.
- They must report to the Station House Officer (SHO) of the Satnampura police station in Phagwara on the fourth Saturday of every month until the trial concludes.
- They must surrender their passports to the magistrate court.
- Any travel must be intimated to the investigating officer.
- Each student must execute a personal bond of Rs 1 lakh.
The court's decision underscores the legal principle that arrest and prolonged detention require concrete evidence beyond financial linkages, especially in stringent laws like the NDPS Act. The case will now proceed to trial where the prosecution will be required to establish its charges with admissible evidence.
