Obviously, Immigration wanted to show what a powerful organization they are within the bureaucracy that is India. How I wish the Prez reads this thread.
But again, thinking nimbler when the situation got out of hand, without losing your head, may have influenced the situation, or at the very least, made it less stressful.
Here are some thoughts -
~ humane treatment can be expected with accepting your mistake wholeheartedly and apologizing to immigration authorities.
~ Having set the apologetic tone, I would have noted down the departure time of the next Air France flight (not the one which departed in a couple of hours, but the one after that), and humbly requested time until then from IMMIGRATION
~ Giving them bad press after the fact does not make things better, but worse for yourself...because they have access to your records and you may already be a marked man for future transit abuse. [Perhaps ?] So all along the 'process' and thereafter, I would be taking a pacifist tone with Indian Immigration. That kind of attitude may have invited treatment similar to the French connection.
