4kg ganja case collapses due to Tamil-Telugu language barrier

Chennai: A 4kg ganja case collapsed before a city drug court after the prosecution failed to establish that a Telugu-speaking accused understood the contents of seizure documents, which had been prepared only in Tamil.Additional special judge S Govindarajan acquitted Uday Kiran, 21, from Visakhapatnam, giving him the benefit of doubt in a case registered by the Narcotics Intelligence Bureau-Criminal Investigation Department (NIB-CID) in Feb 2021.
According to the prosecution, acting on a tip-off, special sub-inspector Selvam arrested the man, who was in possession of 4kg of ganja near Kancheepuram bus stand. Samples were drawn and sent for chemical analysis, which later confirmed the presence of cannabinoids. During the trial, the defence questioned the manner in which the search and seizure procedure was carried out.The court examined whether the statutory safeguards under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act were complied with, particularly whether the accused was informed of his rights and the contents of the documents prepared at the spot. The search notice and seizure mahazar were prepared in Tamil and were signed by the accused in English. However, evidence on record showed that the accused did not know Tamil. During the framing of charges, the court relied on a staff member who knew Telugu to explain the charge to him.In cross examination, police witnesses admitted they did not know Telugu and therefore could not say what conversation took place between SSI Selvam and the accused during the search. Selvam claimed he knew Telugu, but the prosecution did not produce any material to establish that he was capable of explaining the procedure in that language.The court held that the prosecution failed to prove that seizure documents were explained in a language understood by the accused and ruled that statutory NDPS safeguards were not followed, granting the benefit of doubt and acquittal.Get the latest lifestyle updates on Times of India, along with Holi wishes, messages and quotes !