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"NDPS" Digest

Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act – Acquittal – The appellant was convicted under Section 20 of the NDPS Act for possession of 1.1 kg of charas – The conviction was based on the testimony of police officers without corroborating independent witnesses – Significant contradictions were found in the statements of prosecution witnesses regarding the search and seiz...

Criminal Law – Narcotic Drugs – Compliance with Procedural Requirements – Appellants Rajinder Singh @ Bittu and Baljit Singh convicted for possessing 25 kg of heroin – Prosecution argued non-compliance with Section 42 of NDPS Act regarding information recording and senior officer notification – Held, Section 43 applicable as the seizure was from a vehicle in a public ...

NDPS - Possession and Conscious Possession – Section 20(b)(ii)(C) NDPS Act – The appellant was convicted for possessing 208 kg of ganja, which was seized from a private vehicle he was driving – Held: The court observed that possession includes both physical custody and mental awareness – The standard for conscious possession varies depending on whether the vehicle is public...

Criminal Law – NDPS Act – Section 22(c) – Bail under Section 439 CrPC – Prolonged incarceration considered for granting bail – Petitioner apprehended with 295 grams of heroin under Section 22(c) of the NDPS Act – Prosecution failed to present significant progress in the trial despite the charges being framed on 30.11.2023 and only one witness being examined out ...

Criminal Law – NDPS Act – Acquittal - Section 52A compliance – Whether the procedure for sampling under Section 52A was followed. Held, the samples were drawn on the spot without the presence of a Magistrate, which contravenes the NDPS Act. As per the Supreme Court's decisions in Mohanlal and Yusuf, samples must be drawn in the presence of a Magistrate, and the inventory must...

Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act – Acquittal - Search and Seizure – Non-Compliance with Section 42 - The investigating officer failed to obtain a search warrant or authorization from the jurisdictional Magistrate, a requirement under Section 42 of the NDPS Act - The search was conducted without the proper authorization, vitiating the procedure - Held: Non-compliance with ...

Criminal Law – Statutory Bail – Sections 167(2) CrPC and 36A(4) of the NDPS Act – Whether the accused is entitled to statutory bail under Section 167(2) of the CrPC in light of the failure to complete the investigation within the prescribed time frame – Held, the petitioner is entitled to statutory bail, as the final report has not been filed within 90 days, and the contrab...

Bail – NDPS Act – Procedural Non-compliance – Petitioner charged under NDPS Act for possession of commercial quantity of contraband opium – Petitioner argued non-compliance with Sections 50 and 52A, raising questions about the legality of the search and the admissibility of evidence – Court found merit in the arguments, stating that procedural lapses, including failur...

NDPS Act – Conviction and Sentence – Recovery of poppy husk – Appellants not apprehended at the scene – Identification issues – Procedural lapses – Independent witness not examined – Case property not produced – Appeals allowed, conviction and sentence set aside [Paras 1-16].   Adverse Inference – Case property destruction due to flo...

Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act (NDPS), 1985 – Application for Extension of Investigation Time and Denial of Default Bail – High Court dismisses petitions challenging the extension of time for investigation under Section 36A of the NDPS Act and the denial of default bail under Section 167(2) of the Cr.P.C. – Accused involved in the conspiracy to transport Methamphe...