NDPS – Acquittal - Non-Compliance with Section 50 NDPS Act – Right to Search before a Magistrate or Gazetted Officer – The appellant was charged with possession of 535 grams of Methamphetamine – He argued that his right under Section 50 of the NDPS Act was violated as he was not properly informed of his right to be searched before a Magistrate or a Gazetted Officer – ...
Bail Application – NDPS Act – Commercial Quantity of Narcotics – Section 37 NDPS Act – Bail Rejected - Section 50 Compliance – Non-compliance Alleged – The petitioner, a 71-year-old citizen of Belize, sought bail under Section 439 of CrPC, arguing non-compliance with Section 50 of the NDPS Act – Alleged that he was not informed of his right to be searched ...
Bail under NDPS Act – No Direct Recovery – The petitioner sought regular bail on the ground that no recovery was made from him and that he was implicated solely based on a disclosure statement by a co-accused – Held: Given the lack of direct recovery and the fact that co-accused in similar circumstances were granted bail, the petitioner was entitled to bail, subject to conditions...
NDPS Act – Bail Application – Commercial Quantity of Narcotic Substance – Section 37 Rigors Considered – The petitioner sought bail in connection with the recovery of a commercial quantity of Ganja. While Section 37 of the NDPS Act imposes stringent conditions for bail, the court held that these conditions must be balanced against the petitioner’s right to a speedy tr...
Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act – Section 50 – Search of Person – Mandatory Provisions – Petitioners granted regular bail – Reference to a Larger Bench due to conflicting interpretations by Coordinate Benches regarding whether a Gazetted Officer or Magistrate is required to re-apprise the accused of their right to be searched in the officer's presen...
FACTS:
The appellant, Gangadhar alias Gangaram, was convicted under the NDPS Act for the recovery of 48 Kgs 200 gms of cannabis (ganja) and sentenced to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment.
The lower courts held the appellant to be the owner of the house from where the contraband was recovered, rejecting his defense that he had sold the house to a co-accused.
The appellant produced a sale a...
Facts:
The case involved conflicting opinions from different two-Judge Benches of the Supreme Court. In the case of Mohan Lal, it was held that when the informant is also the investigator, the trial is vitiated, and the accused is entitled to acquittal. However, in the subsequent case of Varinder Kumar, it was observed that the law laid down in Mohan Lal should apply prospectively and not affe...
Bail Application – NDPS Act – Methamphetamine Seizure – Regular Bail Granted – The petitioner was arrested for possessing 13.87 grams of contraband initially identified as MDMA, but later confirmed as Methamphetamine – After failure by the Investigating Officer to submit the chemical analysis report on time, the petitioner was granted interim bail – Held: Given ...
Facts:
The case involves a dispute over the determination of "small quantity" or "commercial quantity" of narcotic drugs or psychotropic substances under the NDPS Act, specifically when they are present in a mixture along with neutral substances. The court addressed the challenge to a notification (Notification No. 2942(E) dated 18.11.2009) issued by the Union of India, whic...
NDPS Act – Representative Sampling of Seized Drugs – Compliance with Standing Order No. 1/89 – The court addressed whether the entire seized drug property or only representative samples must be sent to the FSL for analysis – Held: Only representative samples of seized narcotic drugs, after homogeneous mixing of the bulk property, need to be sent to the FSL – The full ...