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PRESS TRUST OF INDIA
NEW DELHI, SEPT 3: The Supreme Court has expressed concern over the growing menace of narcotic drugs in society and said those arrested for dealing with these illegal substances should not be granted bail routinely by the courts.
The Apex Court held that bail could only be granted if the trial court was satisfied that there were reasonable grounds to believe that the accused under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act was not guilty and that he was not likely to commit the same offence while on bail.
Cancelling the bail granted to an accused under the NDPS Act by Allahabad High Court, a division bench comprising Justices K T Thomas and M B Shah, said the high court failed to take a holistic view of harmful socio-economic consequences and health hazards which would accompany trafficking illegally in the dangerous drugs.
``It should be borne in mind that in a murder case, the accused commits murder of one or two persons, while those persons who are dealing in narcotic drugs areinstrumental in causing death or in inflicting death blow to a number of innocent young victims, who are vulnerable,'' the bench said.
Terming drug traffickers as `a hazard to the society', the bench said ``even if they are released temporarily, in all probability, they would continue their nefarious activities of trafficking and/or dealing in intoxicants clandestinely.''
To check the menace of dangerous drugs flooding the market, the Parliament has provided that persons accused of offences under the NDPS Act should not be released on bail during trial unless mandatory conditions provided under Section 37, the court said.
These conditions are (1) there are reasonable grounds for believing that accused is not guilty of such offence; and (2) that he is not likely to commit the offence while on bail.
The bench quoted an earlier judgement of the court which said ``with deep concern, we may point out that the organised activities of the underworld and the clandestine smuggling of narcotic drugs andpsychotropic substances into the country an illegal trafficking of such drugs and substances have led to drug addiction among sizeable section of the public.
``This has affected in particular adolescents and students of both sexes and the menace has assumed serious and alarming proportion in the recent years,'' the judgement noted.
It further said ``therefore, in order to effectively control and eradicate this proliferating and booming devastating menace, causing deleterious effects and deadly impact on the society as a whole, the Parliament has made effective provisions by introfucing the NDPS Act specifying mandatory minimum imprisonment and fine.''
Copyright © 1999 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
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