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TMI Blog1998 (1) TMI 489X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ection 68-F(1) ordering the seizure of the properties of the affected person directing that such properties shall not be transferred or otherwise dealt with, except with his prior permission, or of the competent authority. The competent authority held that there are no reasons to confirm the said orders in two of the matters and the orders of the appellant became ineffective. In the third matter, the competent authority confirmed the order of the appellant. In the first instance, he confirmed the order of the appellant and after considering the evidence produced by the affected person, the order of confirmation was vacated and the order of the appellant became ineffective. Aggrieved by the said orders of the competent authority, the appella ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... the order of the superior and that his role is only to assist the competent authority and to make the investigation on the lines indicated by the competent authority. He further contends that the appellant who was not a party to the proceedings at any stage, cannot prefer an appeal against the order of the competent authority. Shri S. S. Dass, learned counsel for the appellant, contends that the appellant is a person aggrieved, within the meaning of the Act as he is bound to safeguard the interests of the State and to bring it to the notice of this Tribunal that the orders of the competent authority are erroneous. He submits that the appellant is the officer who traced and identified the properties of the affected persons and found them t ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... is Tribunal. If the appeal is treated as made in his official capacity, the Intelligence Officer of the Narcotics Control Bureau cannot be treated as a person. The word person is defined as a human being (natural person), though by a statute the term may include labour organisations, partnerships, associations, corporations, legal representatives, trustees, trustees in bankruptcy, or receivers, as per Black s Law Dictionary. An office of an Intelligence Officer cannot be treated as a person. Applying the same reasoning, the appeals by the Narcotics Control Bureau are also not maintainable, as the Bureau is not a person within the meaning of section 68-O. A contention similar to the one raised by the appellant was dealt with by the Sup ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... r of the competent authority who made the decision and who has no statutory duties to appear before the competent authority to put forward the case of the Department or lead evidence in support thereof, be equated to a party in a lis. We, therefore, hold, having regard to the scheme of the Act, that neither the Intelligence Officer, Narcotics Control Bureau nor the Bureau by itself is a person aggrieved within the meaning of section 68-O of the Act. Before we part with the matter, we have to observe that there is a serious lacuna in the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, which requires the attention of Parliament. There is no provision to rectify an incorrect order of the competent authority as no statutory provision has ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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