Madras High Court noted that there are only seven Special Courts to deal with NDPS cases in the area, due to which it was becoming hard for police officials to follow up on the cases. The Madras High Court recommended creating Special Courts with 100 km of coverage or one for each of the four districts and observes that seizure, storage, and disposal are the three considerations that must be taken into account in all proceedings involving narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances.
Brief Facts:
The petitioners were arrested and remanded to judicial custody for offence punishable under the Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 as they were found in possession of more than 20 kgs of ganja, which is the commercial quantity as per the NDPS Act, and filed the petitions seeking bail. The petitioners had already seeked bail from High Court which was under the process, but they had also successively approached the Special Courts for NDPS and obtained statutory bail.
Observations of the Court:
The Court observed that even though there were Special Courts set up to deal with NDPS cases, it was tough for investigating officers to follow up on the cases due to the prolonged distance to the Courts. The Court stated that it was the inefficiency of the police officials and public prosecutors due to which the purpose and aim of specific provisions in the NDPS Act, such as Section 36(A) and Section 37 were being defeated. The Court observed that it was also the duty of the Government to take necessary steps to ensure that misuse of drugs beyond medical requirement is abolished by the state. The court further stated that seizure, storage, and disposal are the three considerations that must be taken into account in all proceedings involving narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances.
In this regard, the police authorities brought to the court's attention a number of circulars issued by the Director General of Police directing the police officers to store all case materials related to the NDPS Act in special storage rooms (Malkanas), which would also be equipped with a triple lock key system. For the establishment of a zonal-level drug disposal committee, another circular was also released. The senior most Superintendent of Police and Deputy Commissioner of Police would be its members, while the senior most Deputy Inspector General of Police/Joint Commissioner of Police would serve as its chairman. Additionally, it was disclosed that the crime wing has received transfers that have given it enough personnel to handle these cases. The Additional Public Prosecutor also gave the court the assurance that all NDPS cases would be treated as grave cases by the police, and that all instances would need the subdivisional police to file a Grave Crime Report. Additionally, the authorities were instructed to make every effort to finish the investigation and submit the chargesheet on time.
Additionally, the Additional Chief Secretary had instructed the Director of the Forensic Sciences Directorate to designate two lab technicians and Scientific Officers solely for handling NDPS cases and make sure that the test results are delivered to the concerned police officials in a timely manner.
Decision of the Court:
The High Court disposed off the petitions as the petitioners were already on statutory bail and circulars had already been issued by the Director General of Police.
Read Judgment
Social media is young.
Social media raises questions.
Social media is not satisfied with an answer.
Social media looks at the big picture.
Social media is interested in every detail.
social media is curious.
Social media is free.
Social media is irreplaceable.
But never irrelevant.
Social media is you.
(With input from news agency language)
If you like this story, share it with a friend!
0 Comments