New Delhi, A Delhi court has granted bail to a Nigerian national arrested for allegedly possessing forged passports and visas, noting that he had been in jail for 13 months and that the investigation has been completed.
Granting the relief, the court was not accused of any offence under the narcotics law. Special Judge Dheeraj Mor directed that Nwachukwu Benjamin Odinaka be released on furnishing a personal bond of ₹ 25,000 and two local sureties of the same amount. Odinaka was arrested on September 14, 2025, at the instance of two other co-accused who were allegedly found in possession of narcotics. The case originated from a raid conducted on September 10, 2025, following secret information about the sale of cocaine by two African nationals, according to the prosecution. The police allegedly recovered 358.4 grams of cocaine and 435.9 grams of opium from two accused.
In an order dated October 14, the court said, “The trial of this case is likely to take considerable time. There were 26 prosecution witnesses in the case. The court observed that there was no allegation under the NDPS Act against Odinaka, making the stringent bail conditions under Section 37 of the Act inapplicable to him.
No fruitful purpose would be served by further curtailing the liberty of the accused. All the prosecution witnesses are either public officials or expert witnesses of the state. The court noted that the accused had been in custody for a year and a month, the investigation had been completed and the chargesheet filed, but charges were yet to be framed. The defence argued that the accused had been falsely implicated, that the alleged forged documents had been planted on him and that co-accused persons had already been granted bail. It also submitted that no further recovery was required and the accused was no longer needed for investigation.
It also said the prosecution’s apprehension of him fleeing could be addressed through appropriate bail conditions.
