The Supreme Court of India on 4 September 2025, before a Bench of Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi, disposed of a set of Special Leave Petitions (SLPs) concerning a Nigerian national (Respondent 4) detained in Bangalore on drug-related charges. The petitions had been filed not by the detainee himself but through another petitioner seeking to act as his representative.The Court declined to entertain the SLPs in that form, holding that the Nigerian National must be represented through direct legal counsel to ensure proper advocacy of his rights.
The matter arose after the respondent, already in custody in Bangalore on separate narcotics charges and having surrendered his expired passport in related proceedings in Bombay, was also placed in the Foreigners Restriction Centre. A plea to quash his arrest had been dismissed by the Karnataka High Court on 27 March 2025, leading to the present SLPs.
The Court allowed the applications for permission to file the SLPs and condoned the delay but emphasized that proceedings must be pursued by a lawyer engaged on behalf of the detainee. To safeguard the respondent’s rights, the Court directed the Executive Chairman of the Karnataka State Legal Services Authority to immediately provide him free legal aid, appoint counsel to establish contact, assist in filing the SLP, and transmit documents to the Supreme Court Legal Services Committee (SCLSC). The SCLSC was further instructed to appoint a Senior Advocate, preferably with expertise in the relevant field, to pursue the matter. With these directions, the Bench disposed of the SLPs along with all pending interlocutory applications.
Appearances:
For Petitioner(s)- Adv. Dr. Aditya Sondhi, Sr. Adv. Mr. Talha Abdul Rahman, AOR Mr. M Shaz Khan, Adv. Mr. Faizan Ahmed, Adv. Mr. Sudhanshu Tewari, Adv. Mr. Anubhav Kumar, Adv. Mr. Rafid Akhter
