Kolkata: The Calcutta High Court has set aside the conviction of Nigerian national James Kevin Edward in an NDPS case after finding that the forensic examination of the seized narcotic samples was carried out before the mandatory certification by a Judicial Magistrate, rendering the testing process legally invalid.
The Bench of Justices Arijit Banerjee and Apurba Sinha Ray recorded that the alleged seizure occurred on January 4, 2018, and representative samples were sent to the Central Forensic Science Laboratory on January 8, 2018. However, the statutory procedure under Section 52-A of the NDPS Act—requiring that narcotic samples be drawn in the presence of a Magistrate and duly certified—was completed only on March 26, 2019. This chronology established that the samples examined by the forensic laboratory were not the Magistrate-certified samples mandated by law.
The court held that such handling of narcotic samples was “not in accordance with law” and reiterated that when a statute prescribes that an act must be performed in a particular manner, it must be performed strictly in that manner and not otherwise. It noted that certified samples constitute primary evidence under Section 52-A(4).
The High Court also pointed out that the two independent witnesses named at the time of seizure—Subham Das and Ratan Mondal—were never produced during trial, and the record did not indicate that attempts were made to secure their presence. The Bench observed that the trial court did not consider this lapse or the irregular handling of samples while convicting the appellant.
On the issue of personal search, the court accepted the prosecution’s evidence that the accused voluntarily handed over two pouches of contraband after being informed of his rights under Section 50 of the NDPS Act. Since no personal search was conducted, Section 50 was held to be inapplicable in the facts of the case.
Considering the procedural violation concerning narcotic-sample forensics and the non-production of independent witnesses, the Bench set aside the conviction under Section 21(C) of the NDPS Act. It directed Edward’s immediate release if he is not wanted in any other case, ordered return of his seized passport after expiry of the appeal period and instructed that a copy of the order be forwarded to the Ministry of External Affairs to facilitate his repatriation if no further appeal is filed.