No compliance of Supreme Court directives, Standing Orders of Union Govt in J&K UT
Sensitize officers, frame committee: PDSJ Udhampur to DGP
Mohinder Verma
JAMMU, Nov 20: There is absolutely no compliance of the Supreme Court’s directives and Standing Orders of the Government of India on exclusive storage and disposal of seized narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir despite lapse of several decades. Due to this there is every apprehension of misuse and pilferage of contraband particularly from the Malkhanas of the Police Stations.
Several years back, the Apex Court of the country, in case titled Union of India Versus Mohan Lal and Another, had directed that the Central Government and its agencies and also the State Governments shall within six months take appropriate steps to set up facilities for the exclusive storage of seized narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances duly equipped with vaults and double locking system to prevent theft, pilferage or replacement of the seized drugs.
The Central Government and the State Governments shall be free to set up a storage facility for each district in the States and depending upon the extent of seizure and store required, one storage facility for more than one districts, the Supreme Court had mentioned and further directed that disposal of the seized drugs lying in the Police Malkhana and other places used for storage shall be carried out by the Drugs Disposal Committee concerned.
Even the Central Government while taking note of vulnerability and hazards involved in the storage of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances and also the vulnerability of the same to misuse by theft, substitution, dilution etc as well as constraints of space for storage, had issued Standing Order No.1/89 on June 13, 1989 by invoking the powers under Section 52-A of NDPS Act.
It laid down inter-alia the detailed procedure to be followed after the seizure of such drugs by the in-charge police station/seizing officer for storage and receipt thereof in the go-down, procedure to be followed by the police and other empowered officers for early disposal at pre-trial stage itself, constitution of Drug Disposal Committees by the heads of the department(s) and functions as well as powers of such committees to destroy the maximum quantity of such drugs/substances and procedure to be followed in cases involving higher quantities.
The Notification No GSR 339(E) dated May 10, 2007 widened the scope by providing for the disposal of all kinds of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances and also the manner of disposal.
However, there is no compliance of the explicit directives of the Supreme Court and Standing Orders of the Government of India in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir and this can be gauged from the order passed by the Principal Sessions Judge Udhampur Yash Paul Bourney.
“It is disturbing to note that nothing of that sort has happened in the Union Territory (erstwhile State) of J&K despite lapse of three decades”, the Judge said, adding “consequently, all the contraband narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances continue to be dumped in the general Malkhanas of the Police Stations/courts which are overflowing with such materials and emitting strong stinking smells mostly under the charge of a head constable rank official without spearing a thought for the consequences if these contrabands are pushed back to the market again”.
So much so, the Drug Disposal Committees have not been constituted and no special Malkhanas have been designated so far in compliance to the Supreme Court directives and Standing Orders of the Government of India, Principal Sessions Judge said.
Pointing towards routine inspection of the court Malkhana, the Judge said, “huge quantities of contraband drugs and psychotropic substances continue to be dumped even in a large number of cases which have already been disposed off notwithstanding specific orders for the destruction thereof, besides, in other cases which are pending trial”.
“There shouldn’t have been any difficulty in the disposal of the contraband upon conclusion of the trial especially in cases where no appeals are preferred, however, the same have remained un-disposed simply on account of the failure of the officers concerned to give a serious thought to such an issue of vital importance and to constitute Drug Disposal Committees as well as to provide the requisite infrastructure particularly incinerators despite issuance of several notifications by the Central Government and making of elaborate provisions for disposal in view of high vulnerability of these articles to be misused by way of theft, pilferage, dilution, substitution and numerous other ways”, the Judge said.
Laying stress on strict implementation of Apex Court directives and Standing Orders of the Government of India, Yash Paul Bourney said, “the need of the hour is to sensitize the concerned seizing officers, in-charge police stations, authorized officers and also the in-charge officers of the stores about the process and the procedure involved and the desirability of maintaining the requisite standards of probity, propriety as well as promptness in dealing with the narcotics involved in consonance with the Legislative intent for achieving the desired results”.
He has directed the Director General of Police to constitute immediately the Drug Disposal Committee for Udhampur district, make necessary arrangements to provide incinerators required for the job, besides, making provisions of necessary infrastructure for storage as well as creating/designating the special Malkhanas and naming officers as In-charge thereof.
“Additionally, a three member committee headed by Chief Judicial Magistrate with Additional Deputy Commissioner, Additional SP and Additional PP as its members is constituted to examine and evaluate each of the cases for disposal of seized drugs etc”, the Judge said.
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