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TMI Blog2013 (1) TMI 590X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... e undertrial accused is charged with an offence(s) under the Act punishable with minimum imprisonment of ten years and a minimum fine of rupees one lakh, such an undertrial shall be released on bail if he has been in jail for not less than five years provided he furnishes bail in the sum of rupees one lakh with two sureties for like amount", finds constrained applicability in respect of cases under the NDPS Act, in light of Section 37 of the Act. Therefore, this Court in Achint Navinbhai Patel Vs. State of Gujarat & Anr .(2002) 10 SCC 529 observed that "it has been repeatedly stressed that NDPS cases should be tried as early as possible because in such cases normally accused are not released on bail." 2. We are reminded of Justice Felix Frankfurter's immortal words in Antonio Richard Rochin Vs. People of the State of California 96 L. Ed. 183 (1951), coincidentally a case pertaining to narcotics, wherein he described some types of conduct by state agents, although not specifically prohibited by explicit language in the Constitution, as those that "shock the conscience" in that they offend "those canons of decency and fairness which express the notions of justice." Due process of la ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ch stand flagrantly violated due to the state of affairs of trials under the NDPS Act. We would like to clarify that these directions are restricted only to the proceedings under the NDPS Act. DIRECTIONS A. Adjournments 6. The lavishness with which adjournments are granted is not an ailment exclusive to narcotics trials; courts at every level suffer from this predicament. The institutionalization of generous dispensation of adjournments is exploited to prolong trials for varied considerations. 7. Such a practice deserves complete abolishment. The legislature enacted a crucial amendment in the form of a fourth proviso to Section 309(2) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (through Section 21 (b) of Act 5 of 2009) to tackle the problem, but the same awaits notification. Once notified, Section 309 will read as follows: - "309. Power to postpone or adjourn proceedings. (1) In every inquiry or trial the proceedings shall be held as expeditiously as possible, and in particular, when the examination of witnesses has once begun, the same shall be continued from day to day until all the witnesses in attendance have been examined, unless the Cou ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ed by its conspicuous absence, which is interfering with the fundamental right of speedy trial [See: Hussainara Khatoon and Ors . Vs. Home Secretary, State of Bihar (1980) 1 SCC 81], something this Court is duty- bound to protect and uphold, and till the statutory provisions are in place, we direct that no NDPS court would grant adjournments at the request of a party except where the circumstances are beyond the control of the party. This exception must be treated as an exception, and must not be allowed to swallow the generic rule against grant of adjournments. Further, where the date for hearing has been fixed as per the convenience of the counsel, no adjournment shall be granted without exception. Adherence to this principle would go a long way in cutting short that queue to the doors of justice. 9. Perhaps, a provision analogous to Section 22(c) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 may be seriously considered by the legislature for trials under the NDPS Act. It reads as follow: "22. The Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 , to apply subject to certain modifications.- The provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (2 of 1974 .), shall in their appl ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ials" and assign block dates for examination of witnesses. 12. The Narcotics Control Board also pointed out that since operations for prevention of crimes related to narcotic drugs and substances demands coordination of several different agencies viz. Central Bureau of Narcotics ( CBN ), Narcotics Control Bureau ( NCB ), Department of Revenue Intelligence ( DRI ), Department of Custom and Central Excise, State Law Enforcement Agency, State Excise Agency to name a few, procuring attendance of different officers of these agencies becomes difficult. On the completion of investigation for instance, investigating officers return to their parent organizations and are thus, often unavailable as prosecution witnesses. In light of the recording of such official evidence, we direct the concerned courts to make most of Section 293 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 and save time by taking evidence from official witnesses in the form of affidavits. The relevant section reads as follows :- "293. Reports of certain Government scientific experts. (1) Any document purporting to be a report under the hand of a Government scientific expert to whom this s ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... i) Till exclusive courts for the purpose of disposing of NDPS cases under the NDPS Act are established, these cases will be prioritized over all other matters; after the setting up of the special courts for NDPS cases, only after the clearance of matters under the NDPS Act will an NDPS court be permitted to take up any other matter. D. Narcotics Labs 15. Narcotics laboratories at the national level identify drugs for abuse and their accompanying substances in suspected samples, determine the purity and the possible origin of illicit drugs, carry out drug-related research, particularly on new sources of drugs liable to abuse, and, when required by the police or courts of law, provide supportive expertise in drug trafficking cases. Their role in the effective implementation of the mandate of the NDPS Act is indispensible which is why every state or region must have proximate access to these laboratories so that samples collected for the purposes of the Act may be sent on a timely basis to them for scrutiny. These samples often form primary and clinching evidence for both the prosecution and the defence , making their evaluation by narcotics laboratories a crucial exercise. 16. The ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... forensic science laboratories. However, the decision as to the numbers of such laboratories would depend on the backlog of cases in the state. 19. The above mentioned authorities must ensure adequate employment of technical staff and provision of facilities and resources for the purposes of proper, smooth and efficient running of the facilities of Forensic Science Laboratories under them and the Laboratories should furnish their reports expeditiously to the concerned agencies. 20. The Directorate of Forensic Science Services, Ministry of Home Affairs, must take special steps to ensure standardization of equipment across the various forensic laboratories to prevent vacillating results and disallow a litigant an opportunity to challenge test results on that basis. E. Personnel 21. We have also been apprised of the following vacancies at three CFSLs , namely Chandigarh, Kolkata and Hyderabad. Posts Sanctioned Filled Vacant Scientific 99 64 35 Technical 45 40 05 Shortage of staff is bound to hamper with the smooth functioning of these laboratories, and hence, we direct the Directorate of Forensic Science Services, Ministry of Home Affairs to address the same on an ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... stances, their vulnerability to theft, substitution, constraints of proper storage space or any other relevant considerations, by notification published in the Official Gazette, specify such narcotic drugs or psychotropic substances or class of narcotic drugs or class of psychotropic substances which shall, as soon as may be after their seizure, be disposed of by such officer and in such manner as that Government may from time to time, determine after following the procedure herein- after specified. (2) Where any narcotic drug or psychotropic substance has been seized and forwarded to the officer- in- charge of the nearest police station or to the officer empowered under section 53, the officer referred to in sub- section (1) shall prepare an inventory of such narcotic drugs or psychotropic substances containing such details relating to their description, quality, quantity, mode of packing, marks, numbers or such other identifying particulars of the narcotic drugs or psychotropic substances or the packing in which they are packed, country of origin and other particulars as the officer referred to in sub- section (1) may consider relevant to the identity of the n ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ank of Superintendent of Police, who shall ensure that the trial is not delayed on account of non-supply of documents, non- availability of the witnesses, or for any other reason. 27. We have also learnt from the Narcotics Control Bureau that some form of informational asymmetry is prevalent with respect to the communication of the progress of cases between courts and the department. Therefore, there must be one Pairvi Officer or other such officer for each court who shall report the day's proceedings to the nodal officer assigned for that court. H. Public Prosecutors 28. Public prosecutors play the most important role in the administration of justice. Their quality is thus of profound importance to the speed and outcome of trials. We have been informed that Special Public Prosecutors for the Central Bureau of Narcotics are appointed by the Ministry of Home Affairs after scrutiny by the Ministry of Law and Justice, on the recommendation of the District and Sessions Judge concerned. We suggest that the procedure of appointment, placed before us, be brought in line with that generally followed for the appointment of public prosecutors, as mandated under Section 24 of the Code of C ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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