PANAJI
The Additional Sessions Judge, Merces has discharged Sunday Onye Lucky, a Nigerian national from a drugs case finding there was no prima facie evidence to proceed against him under the stringent provisions of the law.
The order came on an application filed by Lucky arguing he was not found in possession of drugs. As per the charge sheet by Goa Police, two Nigerians Ifeanyi Okechukwu Obinna and Onunchukwu Chidiebere were found in possession of 60.143 grams of suspected cocaine and 15.394 grams of suspected MDMA during a raid at rented premises in Siolim on September 10, 2019. Lucky was added as an accomplice as a mobile SIM card, seized during the raid, was registered in his name. The first two accused are currently absconding.
The court noted that the charge sheet did not reveal any incriminating material against Lucky, who was not even arrested then. It also observed that there was no case made against Lucky either for possession or for conspiracy.
The prosecution, in its reply, submitted that the only evidence linking Lucky to the case was the presence of his SIM card in the phone used by Chidiebere. It admitted that the investigating officer had not produced any Call Detail Records (CDR) or Subscriber Detail Records (SDR) to show any communication or conspiracy between the accused parties.
The court took note of the defence argument that the SIM card in question was issued to him not for personal use but for official duties assigned by the High Commission of Nigeria in New Delhi. As the President of the Nigerian Students and Community Welfare Association, Lucky had been entrusted with the phone for community use. It was submitted that Chidiebere, being a member of the association, had used the mobile.
“The conscious possession is a mandatory requirement to invoke the stringent provisions of the NDPS Act and Lucky did not have conscious possession of the contraband. There is no mention of Lucky in the information note nor he is implicated in the FIR, panchanama or the complaint and was never arrested in the crime and was always having valid passport and visa,” the Court presided over by Kshama Joshi stated.
Taking all factors into account, the court held that there were no grounds to proceed against Sunday Onye Lucky and discharged him from the case. The trial will continue under Section 299 CrPC against the two absconding accused.
