In a significant legal development, the Jharkhand High Court has directed the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) to provide compensation of Rs 8 lakh to a man who was falsely implicated in a Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) case and wrongfully imprisoned for approximately eight years.
Justice Sanjay Kumar Dwivedi, presiding over the case, declared, "He (the petitioner) has remained in jail custody for about eight years for a crime which he has not committed. In view of the above position of law, the petitioner shall be entitled to a sum of Rs 8 lakh as compensation, and the same shall be paid to the petitioner through the Additional Director General of the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), Sub Zone, Ranchi, within eight weeks from the date of receipt/production of a copy of this order."
The petitioner, Manga Singh, a native of Punjab, had been working as a waiter and cleaner at a roadside eatery in Barachatti, Gaya. On October 6, 2015, he was detained by ten individuals wearing police uniforms, who claimed to be NCB officials. Subsequently, Singh was wrongfully imprisoned and accused of a drug-related offence, which he vehemently denied.
Singh's plea sought the quashing of the FIR linked to an NDPS Special Case registered under sections 8/18(b) of the NDPS Act, 1985, along with the order taking cognizance of the case. He alleged that he had been framed based on a false seizure list.
The court also noted that the petitioner had been unjustly incarcerated for several years, which violated his fundamental rights under Article 21 of the Constitution. It is worth mentioning that the NCB itself had initiated actions against its officials responsible for fabricating the false case.
While the petitioner had initially requested compensation of Rs 50 lakh, the court's decision to award Rs 8 lakh in compensation marks a significant step towards rectifying the grave injustice endured by Manga Singh during his eight-year ordeal.
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