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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 ..... r>D.K. Jain And Jagdish Singh Khehar JJ. JUDGEMENT 1. This order, and its accompanying directions, are an outcome of the bail matter in Thana Singh Vs. Central Bureau of Narcotics listed before this bench, wherein an accused, who had been languishing in prison for more than twelve years, awaiting the commencement of his trial for an offence under the Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 (hereinafter referred to as the " NDPS Act"), was consistently denied bail, even by the High Court. Significantly, the maximum punishment for the offence the accused was incarcerated for, is twenty years; hence, the undertrial had remained in detention for a period exceeding one-half of the maximum period of imprisonment. An express pronouncement of this Court in the case of Supreme Court Legal Aid Committee Representing Undertrial Prisoners Vs. Union of India & Ors. (1994) 6 SCC 731, which held that "where the 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 bai ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ble assistance of the Additional Solicitor General of India, Mr. P. P. Malhotra , learned amicus curiae, Ms. Anita Shenoy ; Mr. R. K. Gauba , District and Sessions Judge (South), Saket , New Delhi; Registrar Generals of High Courts; Director General, Narcotics Control Bureau, Ministry of Home Affairs, senior-most Officer-in-Charge of Investigations and Prosecution for offences under the NDPS Act; representatives of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence ( DRI ), Customs and Excise Departments and Police of the States concerned. 5. We lay down the directions and guidelines specified hereinafter for due observance by all concerned as the law declared by this Court under Article 141 of the Constitution of India. This is done in exercise of the power available under Article 32 of the Constitution for enforcement of fundamental rights, especially the cluster of fundamental rights incorporated under Article 21, which 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 ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... and pass such orders as it thinks fit dispensing with the examination-in-chief or cross- examination of the witness, as the case may be Explanation 1 .- If sufficient evidence has been obtained to raise a suspicion that the accused may have committed an offence, and it appears likely that further evidence may be obtained by a remand, this is a reasonable cause for a remand. Explanation 2 .- The terms on which an adjournment or postponement may be granted include, in appropriate cases, the payment of costs by the prosecution or the accused." [Emphasis supplied] 8. The fourth proviso deserves immediate notification. In lieu of the lacuna created 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 ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... sary. All these factors together cause lengthier examinations that compound the duration of trials. 11. It would be prudent to return to the erstwhile method of holding "session's trials" i.e. conducting examination and cross-examination of a witness on consecutive days over a block period of three to four days. This permits a witness to take the stand after making one-time arrangements for travel and accommodation, after which, he is liberated from his civil duties qua a particular case. Therefore, this Court directs the concerned courts to adopt the method of "session's trials" 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 o ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ashmir (where the pendency of cases over five years is stated to be high), is directed to establish Special Courts which would deal exclusively with offences under the NDPS Act. ii) The number of these courts must be proportionate to, and sufficient for, handling the volume of pending cases in the State. iii) 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 ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... do not possess any existing infrastructure to facilitate analysis of samples and are hence, compelled to send them to laboratories in other parts of the country for scrutiny. Therefore, each state is required to establish state level and regional level 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 ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... the NDPS Act reads as follows: - "52A . Disposal of seized narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances (1) The Central Government may, having regard to the hazardous nature of any narcotic drugs or psychotropic substances, 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 ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... st be equivalent or superior to the rank 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 manda ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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