In its edition of June 5, 2017 DE in these columns gave the statistics of rapid increase in the seizures of narcotic drugs and pharmaceutical intoxicants, quantity wise to alert the authorities that the drug menace was posing very serious threat to the economy and health of the people. Giving proof of its somewhat irresponsible attitude towards the warning, the Government slept over the matter either willfully or out of sheer incompetence of the concerned authorities to take proper acting.
We have in some earlier cases subtly hinted that a culture has developed in the State administration which tends to either neglect or raise superfluous questions about an important judgment of the State High Court. This attitude is discernible even in its treatment of the orders of the Apex Court of the country. For example both the courts have strong recommended the States including J&K State that there is justification for incepting special courts for speedy disposal of narcotic drugs cases. Owing to the fact that there is large pendency of such cases in our courts it is all the more necessary to have special courts for speedy disposal of such cases. The conviction rate under Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act (NDPSA) cases is as low as 10% to 12% and in a large number of cases the trial ends up in acquittal of the accused on account of tardy investigation which leads to the impression that it has either been done deliberately or there is lack of investigation skill. Moreover, we have noticed that the tools of investigation appear to be archaic and those at the helm of affairs are not well trained. Keeping in sight the rapid increase in the activities of drug mafia larger and larger number of youth are getting addicted to drugs. This is a direct attack on the health of the society. The evil needs to be nipped in the bud. However, the attitude of the Government towards the need of eradicating this social evil is tardy and disappointing.
We understand that the Law Department had taken up the case for establishment of special court to exclusively deal with narcotic related matters so as to clear the huge pendency. The proposal was formulated and submitted to the Finance Department, which has demanded some report on disposal rate by the Sessions Courts before according sanction to the proposal of the Law Department. We fail to understand how come the Finance Department does not trust the figures given by the Law Department about the drugs and Psychotropic substances seized by the Police or Enforcement Department. The Finance Department should have known about the seriousness of the matter and acted without putting a spoke in the wheel.
It has to be said that there is already the Anti Drugs Act in vogue in the State and the Finance Department like all other Department is expected to know about it. Even if there are no orders from either the High Court or the Apex Court still the Act is there and it has to be implemented. How long will the Finance Department wait to understand the urgency of the matter that is spoiling the lives and career of thousands of our youth and destroying hundreds of families? Does not the Finance Department know that the Session Courts that are handling the narcotic cases at present are overburdened to the extent that they cannot cope with the workload? We do not mean that the Finance Department should not use its discretion. What we say is that the discretion has to be used discreetly and with the objective of not stalling the issue but finding a quick solution of the issue. Disregarding the instructions of the courts including the Apex Court of the country by the administrative structure is a sad commentary on the growth of democratic culture in our State. It is the responsibility of the Government to see that various departments of the administration work in cohesion and with close rapport and in the larger interests of the people of the State.
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