The Bombay High Court has ruled that ignorance of the law is no excuse for legal violations, declining to dismiss a case against Ajay Melwani, the director of Vivalavita Pharmaceuticals.

Melwani faces charges under the Narcotic Drugs & Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act for allegedly exporting a chemical classified as contraband without the legally required certificate.

The court emphasized that allowing ignorance as a defense would paralyze the law enforcement system. Melwani's attempt to quash the 2019 FIR—filed by the anti-drug department of the city's crime branch—was based on the argument that his firm was unaware of the 2018 government notification listing the chemical as contraband due to insufficient publicity of the requirement for a no objection certificate (NOC) for export.

On July 22, a division bench of Justices A.S. Gadkari and Neela Gokhale dismissed the petition and declined to quash the case, reaffirming the established legal principle that ignorance of the law cannot serve as a defense in criminal cases. Nevertheless, the bench extended the March 2023 order by four weeks, which had previously restrained the investigating agency from filing its chargesheet against Melwani.

"Ignorance of law is no excuse for breaking it, is one of the essential principles of jurisprudence," the court said dismissing the plea.

The rationale behind this principle is that allowing ignorance as an excuse would enable anyone charged with an offense to simply claim unawareness of the law to evade liability, despite being fully aware of the potential consequences of violating it. This would undermine the legal system and accountability.

The Court said, "The law enforcement machinery shall come to a grinding halt if ignorance is accepted as a defence. It can also lead to mishandling of law on the part of law breakers & this can never be the intention of Legislature to protect the law breakers by providing a shield of ignorance".

"The applicant (Melwani) is a regular purchaser of chemicals from manufacturing companies. He is aware of the dynamics of the business since 2012. Apprising & updating himself with the ever-changing developments in the export-import legislations & rules & regulations thereof must obviously be regular activity of the company & its officials," the HC said.

The bench noted that, at face value, the allegations in the FIR suggest the commission of a cognizable offense. The prosecution's case is that Sam Fine O Chem Ltd., a chemical manufacturer, exported 1,000 kg of the controlled substance N-Phenethyl-4 Piperidone to an Italian company through Melwani's firm, Vivalavita, without obtaining the required no objection certificate (NOC).

According to the police, in 2018, N-Phenethyl-4 Piperidone was classified as a contraband substance under the Narcotic Drugs & Psychotropic Substances (Regulation of Controlled Substances) Order. Therefore, its export necessitates the NOC from the Narcotics Commissione.

Additional Public Prosecutor Ashish Satpute contended that the export was conducted without obtaining the necessary no objection certificate (NOC). Satpute further noted that a complaint had been filed against customs officers for failing to verify export requirements and ensure compliance.

The petitioner argued that the government had not publicized the amendment adding the chemical to Schedule B of the NDPS Order, and even statutory authorities were unaware of it. According to the plea, the amended notification was only uploaded on the government website in 2019.