SRINAGAR: The Jammu, Kashmir, and Ladakh High Court expressed concern over incompetent officers investigating cases under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, leading to acquittals despite the severity of the offences.
A Division Bench comprising Justices Sanjeev Kumar and Muhammad Yousuf Wani noted a troubling rise in drug-related crimes, particularly among adolescents and students. The court highlighted that while narcotics seizures have increased, many cases collapse due to careless and unscientific investigations that fail to follow mandatory provisions of the NDPS Act.
“It is shocking that most genuine NDPS cases collapse due to casual, unfair, and faulty investigations. The mandatory provisions under the NDPS Act are being disregarded,” the Bench stated, urging the Central and J&K governments to ensure only experienced officers handle NDPS investigations.
The Court’s observations were made while upholding the acquittal of two men accused of smuggling 10,000 painkiller capsules into Kathua. The trial court had dismissed the case in 2015 due to insufficient evidence.
The High Court found serious flaws in the prosecution’s case, including discrepancies in the seizure and sampling of the alleged contraband. Additionally, the magistrate tasked with verifying the recovered drugs sealed the packets without inspection.
Ruling that the state had failed to establish even a prima facie case, the court dismissed the government’s appeal, reaffirming the acquittal of the two accused.
The government was represented by Additional Advocate General Ravinder Gupta, while Advocate Arun Dev Singh appeared for the accused. (KNT)
