There is an imminent need for jurisdictional agencies, handling affairs at international airports, to sensitise their officers in the prevailing laws before taking the drastic step of detention and arrest of an international traveller, the Supreme Court has said.

A Bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta made the observations while quashing the arrest and criminal proceedings against NRI Rocky Abraham, an Indian citizen settled in Italy for over two decades.

He was detained at the Delhi airport in January 2025 for allegedly carrying a deer horn in violation of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.

Abraham was arrested after airport officials found the horn in his baggage and registered an FIR under Sections 39, 49, and 51 of the Act.

He remained in custody for nearly two weeks b

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