* HC’s repeated directions on NDPSA remain un-adhered
Mohinder Verma
JAMMU, Dec 27: Notwithstanding the fact that drug cartel has tightened its grip over the youth of Jammu and Kashmir, the conviction rate under the Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act (NDPSA) cases is abysmally low mainly due to shoddy investigation at the hands of the police. Ironically, the Government has not woken up to the situation, which otherwise needs immediate focus on fixing responsibility for inept handling of the offences and making available specialized/ trained manpower to deal with such cases.
According to the information collected by EXCELSIOR from several Sessions Courts, the conviction rate under the Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act has remained miserably low because such cases suffer from intrinsic infirmities due to inept handling at the hands of un-trained and ill-informed police officials.
“A police officer or official, who doesn’t have complete knowledge about the NDPSA and the provisions required to be followed for meticulous investigation are entrusted the task of handling such cases despite the fact that NDPSA is a very technical piece of legislation and only specialized/ trained persons can deal with the same”, legal experts said. “This results into non-production of material witnesses and finally the case ends up with the acquittals of the accused in the courts of law”, they further said.
Quoting the examples of inept handling of the cases, the legal experts said, “the mandatory provisions of the NDPS Act vis-à-vis mode and time limit for dispatch of samples of psychotropic substances for chemical analysis are flouted with impunity which creates doubts about the veracity of the prosecution version and appellant gets the benefit of doubt”.
“It is a settled position of law that the person to be searched under the NDPS Act is required to be told about his right under Section 50 before he is searched but this mandatory requirement is not being followed and this is treated as technical breach which ultimately affect the conviction”, they added.
Though the acquittal rate due to prosecution failure and infirmities in police investigation has assumed alarming proportion and even attracted the attention of the Division Bench of the State High Court yet the State has not woken up from deep slumber to ensure handling of such cases by trained and specialized hands and taking to task the erring Investigating Officers.
“There is a dire need of such cases being handed only by those police officers/officials who have been imparted special training in this regard and are in know of the provisions of the Act as mishandling of cases has far reaching effect, which can disturb the entire social fabric”, they stressed. How long the State Government can allow the procedural flaws in investigation to result into escaping of the culprits from being punished and give them a free hand to keep on spoiling the future of the young generation? they asked.
The non-seriousness of the State Government towards this alarming situation can be gauged from the fact that State High Court had sent copies of a number of judgments/orders to the Director General of Police and other concerned authorities for immediate attention and appropriate action vis-à-vis handling of NDPS Act cases by specialized hands but till date no step has so far been taken to get sufficient manpower trained or a separate wing established.
According to the available information, the State Government in the month of March this year had filed an affidavit before the State High Court mentioning that a committee would be established to study the case law and find out the reasons for tardy investigation in NDPSA cases but till date no such committee has been framed.
What to talk of investigation even the Forensic Science Laboratory has not been provided with advanced equipment, which can easily detect morphine content in the drugs. According to the legal experts, a drug can be termed as psychotropic only when it carries 0.2% morphine content.
“A specialized equipment was provided to the FSL but during the past quite long time it is non-functional because of some snag and the FSL is awaiting funds for the Police Headquarters for rectifying the same”, official sources said.
If the Government wants to protect the young generation from drug cartel, it should rise from the deep slumber, deliberate on the subject and plug the holes in the investigation of cases involving serious offences under the NDPS Act, legal experts stressed.
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