LI Network
Published on: 28 January, 2024 at 18:10 IST
In a recent development, the Kerala High Court has authorized an advocate to retrieve the personal belongings of a foreign national who had been acquitted of charges under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act.
The foreign national, hailing from El Salvador, sought the release of his possessions, including his passport, vaccination certificate, driving license, and seized currency notes, which were held by the Sessions Court in Ernakulam.
The petitioner, currently residing in a transit center pending deportation from India, faced obstacles in collecting his belongings due to restricted mobility within the country. Appearing online before the court, he authorized Advocate Niharika Hema Raj to act on his behalf.
The advocate, despite not filing a vakalatnama and representing the petitioner based on a memo of appearance, expressed willingness to collect the materials.
Justice Bechu Kurian Thomas, presiding over the case, directed the Sessions Court to hand over all the personal articles of the foreign national to Advocate Niharika Hema Raj.
The Court emphasized that given the petitioner’s authorization and the unique circumstances, it was appropriate to invoke the court’s inherent jurisdiction to permit the advocate to receive and subsequently hand over the belongings to the petitioner.
The Sessions Court in Ernakulam, in a prior order dated December 6, 2023, had directed the return of the personal articles to the acquitted individual.
In compliance with the Kerala High Court’s recent decision, the Sessions Court is now instructed to promptly transfer the specified articles, materials, and currency notes to Advocate Niharika Hema Raj.
The advocate is then directed to deliver these possessions to the petitioner, obtaining endorsement from the authorized personnel at the transit center in Mayyanadu, Kottiyam, before the petitioner’s departure from India on January 31, 2024.
The court proceedings involved Public Prosecutor Noushad K A as counsel for the respondents. The case is titled Jhonny Alexander Duran Sola v State of Kerala,