Mumbai: A special NDPS court recently acquitted two men, including a 75-year-old Jammu and Kashmir resident, in a 2017 case involving the alleged seizure of over 20 kg of charas. Both accused, Haji Hakim and Irfan Qureshi, had spent five years in jail before being granted bail in 2022. The court ruled that the prosecution failed to prove the charges beyond reasonable doubt, citing significant procedural lapses regarding the search of the accused and the methodology used to collect drug samples for forensic analysis. The duo were arrested in July 2017 by the Anti-Narcotic Cell (ANC) near Foras Road following a tip-off. While the prosecution claimed to have recovered 15.6 kg of charas from Hakim and 5.2 kg from Qureshi, the judge found substance in defence lawyer Anil Lala’s submissions that the mandatory safeguards under the NDPS Act were not strictly followed. The judge noted that while the law requires an accused to be informed of their right to be searched before a magistrate or a gazetted officer, the evidence in this case was “not convincing.“The court pointed to discrepancies in how the accused were apprised of these rights. Though the police produced letters signed by the duo, the judge observed that the replies were not in the handwriting of the accused and appeared identical. Further, the investigating officer admitted that the appraisal might have occurred during the preparation of the panchnama rather than before the actual search. Regarding these procedural failures, the judge held, “If this statement... is accepted to be true, then admittedly the appraisal of right under section 50 was not before the search was conducted. The evidence of prosecution on the point of appraisal about right of accused under section 50 of NDPS Act is not convincing.”Another blow to the prosecution’s case was the failure to follow Section 52-A of the NDPS Act, which mandates that samples be drawn in the presence of a magistrate to serve as primary evidence. The court found that the police had instead collected samples by “scratching” the seized charas rolls themselves. “Admittedly, the procedure under section 52-A of NDPS Act is not followed in the present case. It is an admitted fact on record that the sample from the seized substance were not drawn by the police in the presence of the magistrate, therefore, the samples drawn would not be a valid piece of primary evidence in the present trial,” the judge said. The judge further questioned the representative nature of the samples, noting that the investigating team did not weigh each charas roll separately or collect individual samples from every piece. As the prosecution failed to establish that the samples sent for chemical analysis accurately represented the bulk of the seized material, the judge found the evidence insufficient for a conviction. “The prosecution has failed to establish compliance under section 52-A of the NDPS Act. The prosecution has failed to prove charge against accused beyond reasonable doubt,” the judge said.

Spain’s Lamine Yamal has criticised sections of Spanish fans for anti-Muslim chants during Spain’s friendly against Egypt, saying such behaviour should not be tolerated in football.The incident took place at RCDE Stadium on Tuesday, where parts of the crowd were heard chanting: “bote, bote, bote musulman el que no bote”, which translates to “jump, jump, jump, whoever doesn’t jump is a Muslim”. The chant was heard again later in the first half and shortly after the break.Following the chants, a stadium announcement asked fans not to use racist, homophobic or xenophobic language, and the same message was displayed on the big screen. The announcement was met with whistles from some sections of the crowd.Egypt is a predominantly Muslim country. Yamal, the 18-year-old Spain player, is also a practising Muslim and has spoken about his faith before.“I am a Muslim, thank God,” he posted on Instagram.“Yesterday in the stadium, we heard the chant ‘whoever does not jump is a Muslim’. I know it was directed to the opposing team and nothing towards myself as a person, but as a Muslim myself this does not stop being a lack of respect and something we can’t tolerate. “I understand not all the fanbase is like that, but to those who sing those chants: using religion as something to mock people in a football stadium leaves you as ignorant and racist people. Football is to enjoy and support, not to offend people by who they are or what they believe in.”“Having said that, thanks to the fans who came to support. See you in the World Cup.”Real Madrid coach Alvaro Arbeloa also reacted to the incident, saying Spain was a tolerant country and not racist, despite what happened during the match.The chant, which is commonly used by Spain supporters in matches, was directed at the opposition in this case, referring to the country rather than a specific individual.The Royal Spanish Football Federation condemned the chants after the match. Yamal’s Barcelona teammates Pedri and Joan Garcia also spoke against the incident. Spain’s minister of education, vocational training and sport issued a similar message of condemnation on Wednesday.

NEW DELHI: Chennai Super Kings are dealing with the absence of MS Dhoni during their IPL 2026 clash against Punjab Kings, as the veteran has been ruled out for the first two weeks due to a calf strain. On Friday, PBKS won the toss and decided to bowl first in Chepauk.The team had a tough start to the season, suffering a heavy loss in their opening match, raising concerns about their performance without him.