'Don't detain international travellers in haste', SC tells enforcement agencies; quashes FIR against NRI

Cautioning enforcement agencies against hasty detention/arrest of international travellers, the Supreme Court has quashed the arrest and subsequent criminal proceedings against an Italy-based NRI who was arrested at the IGI Airport here in January this year for allegedly carrying a deer horn in violation of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.

“This court feels an imminent need to require the jurisdictional agencies concerned, handling affairs at the international airports, to sensitise their officers in the prevailing laws before taking the drastic step of detention and arrest of an international traveller. Needless to state that any such step should not be taken in haste and must be proceeded with an appropriate legal opinion and a pragmatic approach,” a Bench led by Justice Vikram Nath said.

Referring to a recent incident at the Jaipur International Airport, wherein an octogenarian passenger travelling from Dubai was detained and his pre-owned Rolex watch was arbitrarily seized on the ground that it constituted luxury goods, the Bench said ultimately, the watch was found to be lawfully owned.

“Such ill-advised actions tend to bring the reputation of the country to disrepute in the international fora, in addition to bringing the conduct of the officers concerned in breach of the human rights guarantees,” said the Bench, which also included Justice Sandeep Mehta.

Invoking its powers under Article 136 and Article 142 of the Constitution, the Bench quashed the arrest and criminal proceedings against Rocky Abraham, an Italy-based NRI, who remained in jail for 14 days following his arrest at the Delhi airport in January 2025 for allegedly carrying a deer horn in violation of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972. He was travelling from Italy to Kochi via Delhi for a vacation and to undergo knee surgery.

The top court’s order came after Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati conceded that a forensic report from the Wildlife Institute of India that the seized article was a reindeer horn, a species not listed under any of the schedules of the 1972 Act. She submitted that the prosecution was unwarranted and that the police were likely to file a closure report.