India, May 31 -- A special court has acquitted a 37-year-old man accused of possessing 215 grams of mephedrone (MD), ruling that serious procedural lapses by the Anti-Narcotic Cell (ANC) undermined the prosecution's case and cast doubt on the legality of the search and seizure.

Special Judge V.M. Sundale on Thursday cleared Danish Afzal Shaikh, arrested in October 2022 near Bandra Court, after finding that investigators had failed to strictly comply with safeguards mandated under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act.

According to the prosecution, ANC officers on patrol near the Kherwadi Pumping Centre spotted Shaikh under suspicious circumstances and recovered 215 grams of MD from a white nylon bag he was carrying....