Mumbai: Refusing to quash an FIR against a director of a pharmaceutical company for allegedly exporting a chemical declared as a contraband substance without the requisite certificate mandated in law, the Bombay High Court observed that ignorance of law is no excuse for breaking it. The court also noted that the law enforcement machinery shall come to a grinding halt if ignorance is accepted as a defence.
“Ignorance of law is no excuse for breaking it, it is one of the essential principles of jurisprudence,” a bench of Justices Ajey Gadkari and Neela Gokhale observed on Monday.
The HC was hearing a petition filed by director of Vivalavita Pharmaceuticals Ajay Melwani seeking quashing of an FIR lodged against him in 2019 under provisions of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act by the anti-drug department of the city police's crime branch.
Melwani claimed that the government did not publicise its 2018 notification which included chemicals under the list of contraband substances. Hence, his firm was unaware about the requirement of a no objection certificate (NOC) before its export. Also, he claimed that the amended notification was uploaded on the government website only in 2019.
The judges reasoned that if ignorance was allowed as an excuse, then every person charged for any offence or involved in a crime would merely claim that he was unaware of the law in question in order to avoid liability, even though he was well aware of the consequences of breaking the law. “The law enforcement machinery shall come to a grinding halt if ignorance is accepted as a defence. It can also lead to mishandling of law on the part of law breakers and this can never be the intention of Legislature to protect the law breakers by providing a shield of ignorance,” the HC noted.
The judges said the pharma company was engaged in the business of export-import of pharmaceutical products and allied substances, and hence cannot be believed to be ignorant of the rules and regulations governing the said business.
“The applicant (Melwani) is a regular purchaser of chemicals from manufacturing companies. He is aware of the dynamics of the business since 2012. Apprising and updating himself with the ever-changing developments in the export-import legislations and rules and regulations thereof must obviously be regular activity of the company and its officials,” the court underlined.
The allegations in the FIR taken at the face value prima facie disclose commission of a cognizable offence, the court said.
According to the prosecution, a chemical manufacturing company Sam Fine O Chem Ltd exported 1,000 kg of a controlled substance, N-Phenethyl-4 Piperidone, to an Italian company through Melwani's firm Vivalavita without the mandatory NOC.
In 2018, N-Phenethyl-4 Piperidone was included as a contraband substance under the Narcotics Drugs & Psychotropic Substances (Regulation of Controlled Substances) Order. Hence its export required a 'no objection' certificate of the Narcotics Commissioner.
State advocate Ashish Satpute submitted that a complaint has also been filed against officers of the customs department for failing to check the requirements.
The HC refused to quash the FIR but extended for four weeks an earlier order restraining the investigating agency from filing its chargesheet against Melwani.
