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.
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. Granting the relief, the court was not accused of any offence under the narcotics law.
In an order dated October 14, the court said, "The trial of this case is likely to take considerable time. 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. There were 26 prosecution witnesses in the case.
According to the prosecution, the case originated from a raid conducted on September 10, 2025, following secret information about the sale of cocaine by two African nationals. The police allegedly recovered 358.4 grams of cocaine and 435.9 grams of opium from two accused.
Subsequently, a raid was conducted at a premises in Burari at the instance of a co-accused, leading to Odinaka's arrest on September 14, 2025. He was allegedly found in possession of forged passports and visas.
The chargesheet was filed on December 12, 2025, for offences under the NDPS Act, the BNS and the Foreigners Act. A supplementary chargesheet containing the forensic science laboratory report was filed in July this year.
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.
Opposing the plea, the prosecution argued that the allegations were serious and the accused, being a foreign national, could flee if released.
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. It also said the prosecution's apprehension of him fleeing could be addressed through appropriate bail conditions.
"Likelihood of his tampering with the evidence or influencing the witnesses is non-existent. He is stated to have clean antecedents. The apprehension of prosecution that he may run away from justice can be duly addressed by invoking appropriate bail conditions," the judge said.
The court directed him not to leave India without prior permission and to deposit his passport, if not already deposited. He was also directed not to contact witnesses or tamper with evidence.
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