Mumbai, October 30, 2026: The special NDPS court has discharged a 35-year-old woman accused of supplying mephedrone to an undertrial prisoner, observing that merely knowing each other and being co-accused in another case cannot be grounds to implicate her.
As per the prosecution case, Muskan Shaikh, lodged in Byculla Women's District Jail in a criminal case related to drug trafficking, was brought to court on April 6. While she was returning to prison, she was searched before being taken back to the prison.
It is alleged that the woman constable who searched her found a small plastic zip-lock bag containing suspected mephedrone (MD), weighing 2.05 grams, in her possession. The matter was reported to senior prison officers.
Thereafter, police attached to Nagpada Police Station visited the jail and a case was registered. During her interrogation, Muskan revealed that she had received the contraband from her co-accused, Shabnam Shaikh. Based on this, Shabnam was also booked and arrested in the case.
Defence Seeks Discharge
Shabnam’s lawyer, Ayaz Khan, later sought her discharge, claiming that she had been falsely implicated in the present crime. No contraband was recovered from her possession.
The defence pointed to the statements of the witnesses and contended that initially, when she was asked about its source, Muskan gave vague answers and did not disclose Shabnam’s name as a supplier.
Besides, the defence also claimed that other constables had no information about how the MD substance came into Muskan’s possession. The prosecution, however, said there was sufficient evidence against her.
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Court Finds No Evidence
The court, however, said that apart from the statement of Muskan, an accused in the case, there was no evidence against Shabnam. Hence, while discharging her, the court said, “There is no sufficient ground for proceeding against Shabnam. The material does not disclose her prima facie involvement in the possession, supply or conspiracy relating to the seized contraband.”
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