A Bench of Chief Justice of India NV Ramana and Justices AS Bopanna and Hima Kohli held that physical analysis is not prescribed under the provisions of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act (NDPS Act) for testing opium.
“The physical nature of the material is not relevant for determining whether the contents of the sample analyzed were actually opium or not, and physical analysis is not prescribed under the provisions of the NDPS Act for testing the opium,” the order said.
The Bench, therefore, reaffirmed the decision given by High Court of Punjab and Haryana to hold that under the NDPS Act, it is only on the basis of the contents of particular sample that a conclusion is to be arrived at regarding the same being opium.
The appellant in the present case had submitted that the mandatory provisions of Section 50 (conditions under which search of persons shall be conducted) of the NDPS Act were not complied with, and the appellant was neither searched nor told of his right to being searched before the Gazetted Officer or the Magistrate.
Source: Barandbench
