THE GOAN NETWORK
PANAJI
The High Court of Bombay at Goa has rejected a Nigerian national’s plea for default bail in a Rs 2.53 crore narcotics case, ruling against his claim that chargesheet was incomplete without a chemical analyser’s report.
The Bench of Justice S G Chapalgaonkar's order on Wednesday was in response to the bail application filed by Nzedigwe Chigozie Innocent, who was arrested by the Anti-Narcotic Cell on October 8, 2025.
During the hearing, the prosecution submitted that the accused was found in possession of 1,162.3 gms of suspected cocaine valued at Rs 2.32 crore approx and 106.2 gms of suspected ecstasy of around Rs 21.24 lakh. A drug detection kit had tested positive for the substances, and a case was registered under Sections 21(c), 22(c) and 8(c) of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act.
The chargesheet was filed before the Special Court on April 2, 2026, without the chemical analyser’s report. The accused argued that the report was necessary to establish that the seized substances were narcotic drugs and that its absence rendered the chargesheet incomplete for the purpose of default bail. He also submitted that he had been in custody for about a year and that the trial would take its own course.
Opposing the application, the State submitted that issue of whether a chargesheet filed without an FSL report in an NDPS case could be treated as incomplete was pending before the Supreme Court.
The Court while rejecting the plea also observed that he allegedly indulged in narcotics activities while on bail in a previous case.
