Overview
- The Madhya Pradesh High Court awarded Rs 10 lakh to Ajay Singh this week after finding his 57-day detention in 2010 unlawful and infringing his right to life and personal liberty.
- Airport Explosive Trace Detector (ETD) alerts had flagged packets of aamchur and garam masala as heroin and MDEA, leading to an NDPS arrest and prolonged judicial custody.
- The Regional Forensic Science Laboratory in Bhopal lacked the equipment to test for the substances and returned samples after about ten days, forcing authorities to send them to CFSL Hyderabad where tests showed no narcotics.
- Justice Deepak Khot held the state vicariously liable, ordered payment of compensation within a court-specified period, allowed the petitioner to pursue separate civil remedies, and rejected requests for immediate disciplinary orders against officials.
- The court’s order requires the state chief secretary to inspect all regional forensic labs to ensure proper instruments and trained staff, a step that could speed testing, reduce wrongful detentions, and prompt review of ETD calibration for local spices.