Bhopal, India — In a case that highlights the pitfalls of automated security systems and the slow wheels of justice, a Madhya Pradesh businessman has been awarded ₹10 lakh in compensation after spending nearly two months behind bars due to a false positive from an airport scanner.
Ajay Singh, a resident of Gwalior, was detained at Bhopal airport in May 2010 while preparing to board a flight to Delhi en route to Malaysia. During routine baggage screening, an Explosive Trace Detector (ETD) machine flagged packets of common Indian kitchen spices — garam masala and aamchur (dried mango powder) — as containing heroin and a psychotropic substance.
Singh was immediately arrested under India’s stringent Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act. Despite the substances being everyday cooking ingredients found in most Indian households, he remained in judicial custody for 57 days before being granted bail.
The Madhya Pradesh High Court recently ruled in his favour, ordering the state government to pay ₹10 lakh as compensation for violating his fundamental right to personal liberty. The court observed that the Canadian-made detection machine was not properly calibrated to handle strong aromatic Indian spices, leading to the erroneous alert. It also directed a statewide inspection of forensic science laboratories to prevent similar incidents in the future.
The case, which dates back over 15 years, underscores several systemic issues in India’s criminal justice framework. These include over-reliance on unverified machine readings, delays in forensic confirmation, and the severe personal and professional toll of wrongful arrests under strict drug laws.
Singh’s ordeal began when security personnel, acting on the machine’s alert, seized the spice packets and registered a case against him. Subsequent laboratory tests eventually confirmed the substances were innocent spices, but the process took weeks, during which he languished in jail.
The High Court’s order, delivered in 2026, has sparked widespread discussion on social media, with many Indians sharing the story to point out the cultural disconnect in global security technologies that are not adapted to local contexts.
This incident serves as a cautionary tale about balancing security protocols with individual rights, especially in a country where spices are not just ingredients but an integral part of daily life and cultural identity. Legal experts hope the ruling will prompt better training and calibration of detection equipment across Indian airports and forensic facilities.
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