Ever heard of the dumb talking. Well, some Delhi cops claimed to have even recorded the oral statement of a dumb man charged with possessing narcotic substances.

They claimed that accused Hazrat Ali alias Montu had even admitted his guilt.

But Additional Sessions Judge Rajneesh Bhatnagar discovered that Ali was deaf and dumb and could in no way have made any oral statement.

On Wednesday, the court acquitted Ali saying, "It is a case of blatant violation of the right to life and liberty granted to a citizen."

The ASJ asked the two police officers, who probed the case - ASI Sudesh Pal and ASI Ramesh Chand - to pay Rs 25,000 to Ali as compensation observing, "It would be a travesty of justice if I restrict myself to simply acquitting the accused who has been in jail for eight months."

However, the court added, "No amount of compensation can be sufficient for the pain and agony suffered by Ali."

Ali was arrested on March 17, 2003 and police claimed to have recovered 1,200grams of ganja from him. He was charged under the Narcotics and Psychotropic Substances (Prevention) Act.

The Act requires the police to give notice to any person before a search is carried out and offer him the option of having the search conducted in the presence of a gazetted officer.

Police claimed to have served notice to Ali and that they had read it to him as he is 'illiterate'. They also claimed that Ali, after hearing it, admitted his guilt orally.