The following code

public final double[] array = {1, 1}; //cannot be null because 'array' is final

private double[] getArray() {
    if (null != array && someCondition) { //redundant check for null
        return array;
    }
    array[0] = 42;  //compiler warning
    return array;
}

produces compiler warning:

Array access 'array[0]' will produce 'NullPointerException'

This warning goes away if the redundant check for null is removed.

Can there really be a NullPointerException during execution the above code?