Visit Indian Travel Sites
Goa,
Kerala,
Tamil Nadu,
Andhra Pradesh,
Delhi,
Rajasthan,
Uttar Pradesh,
Himachal Pradesh,
Assam,
Sikkim,
Madhya Pradesh,
Jammu & Kashmir
Karnataka
|
Drug abuse suspects can be searched only in presence of officer, magistrate: SC | | The Supreme Court has ruled
that suspects in drug and narcotics smuggling cases have the right to insist on
the presence of a gazetted officer or nearest magistrate when they are searched
for drugs to ensure transparency in investigation. Interpreting Section 50 of
the Narcotics and Psychotropic Substances Act (NDPS), Justices Aftab Alam and
Ranjana Prakash Desai said failure to follow the procedure would cause a definite
prejudice to the accused. Justice Desai, who wrote the judgement, said that a
suspect might insist on the presence of a gazetted officer, or a magistrate to
introduce transparency in the search. The ruling was given while acquitting three
persons convicted and sentenced to six months Rigorous Imprisonment by a sessions
court in Andhra Pradesh for sale of ganja. A police team who claimed that they
had seized ganja from the possession arrested them. The Andhra Pradesh High Court
had upheld their conviction, following which one of the convicts had come and
appealed to the apex court, contending that the authorities did not follow the
Section 50 of the NDPS Act and their conviction was illegal.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
