Much longed for setting up of a mechanism of speedy and pointed disposal of cases falling under Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act (NDPSA) by establishing Special Courts seems to be now on the priorities of the UT Government of Jammu and Kashmir . This decision can be appreciated and termed as a step taken in the much desired direction. It seems quite prosaic that while the relevant Act duly enumerates the requirement of establishing as many Special Courts as may be deemed necessary to ensure prosecution and speedy trial of the accused , why the same was not done so far especially looking from the point of the angle of the menace of drugs trafficking being constantly on the rise though many a cache of such drugs and narcotic substances being intermittently seized by the police and the culprits apprehended but how many convicted and how fast, is the moot question .
Since ordinary courts are already overburdened with new as well as pending cases needing disposal, cases falling under the NDPSA cannot normally get a fast trial and, therefore, are likely to get delayed in disposal let alone speedy trial hence the necessity of setting up of special courts. With this step taken now even belatedly , the UT Government is , as such, formally going to comply with the explicit directions of the Supreme Court as well as the High Court of Jammu and Kashmir.
The proposal currently under the consideration of Home and Finance Departments for completing of necessary formalities, it is expected that the process shall get expedited so that this one step , definitely a major one, could clearly project the resolute intentions of the Government to take on drugs trafficking from as many fronts as possible . Establishing an exclusive special and professional police support base in investigating the cases speedily and now going to be tried in Special Courts was bound to have a larger effect in containing the growing menace of drugs and narcotic substances in respect of manufacturing or cultivating , possession, sale, purchase , storage , consumption and dealing with these substances in any other form.
Jammu and Kashmir reportedly having quite a sizeable number of cases related to drugs and its trafficking should have motivated the concerned authorities in the administration to take steps towards speedy disposal including more of convictions but no serious steps having been taken depicts the level of seriousness shown all these years in such cases taken to logical legal ends and that too in a reasonable time frame. That could have been done by establishing of Special Courts in compliance of the directives of the Supreme Court. The Act otherwise is stringent in that a provision of imprisonment ranging from 3 years to 10 and now even up to 20 years with a fine of Rs.1 lakh as per the amendment to it by an ordinance made on Sept 30, 2021 implying as to how much was the menace perceived in its overall deleterious impact and effect on the society .
There is more to be seen in trafficking in drugs and narcotic substances because the proceeds of its sale were also used in financing terror activities and thus posing threat to peace and security apart from ruining physical and mental health of the young people in numbers and even the country’s economy. The three Special Courts, looking to the turnover in the trafficking of the contraband items in Jammu and Kashmir based on certain parameters like the periodicity and the volume of seizures, the surge in the levels of usage and addiction etc appear to be reasonably sufficient for purposes of speedy trials provided investigations of the cases and producing charge sheets against the accused in such special courts picked up the speed. We reiterate that all pronged effective war needs to be fought against each and every sphere of drugs trafficking including , now by establishing of three special courts so that the menace was vastly contained and the well organised chain crippled to save more and more of gullible and innocent victims falling in its horrible trap.
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