(NDPS) Quantity of Neutral substance not to be excluded, to be considered along with actual content of the weight of the offending drug to determine Small and Commercial quantities: SC
The Supreme Court ruled that the Quantity of Neutral substance not to be excluded and to be considered along with actual content of the weight of the offending drug to determine Small and Commercial quantities.
Court observation
The division bench of Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Justice M.M. Sundresh already opined on the issue whether the actual content of the weight of the offending drug is to be considered or whether as a whole procedure has to be looked into on the basis of the larger objective of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act.
The court said that the decision of the Court in the case of E. Michael Raj, taking the view that in the mixture of narcotic drugs or psychotropic substance with one or more neutral substance(s), the quantity of the neutral substance(s) is not to be taken into consideration while determining the small quantity or commercial quantity of a narcotic drug or psychotropic substance and only the actual content by weight of the offending narcotic drug which is relevant for the purpose of determining whether it would constitute small quantity or commercial quantity, is not a good law.
The court stated that in Hira singh case it was stated that in case of seizure of mixture of Narcotic Drugs or Psychotropic Substances with one or more neutral substance(s), the quantity of neutral substance(s) is not to be excluded and to be taken into consideration along with actual content by weight of the offending drug, while determining the “small or commercial quantity” of the Narcotic Drugs or Psychotropic Substances.
The court held that the quantity of the neutral substance is not to be excluded and to be taken into consideration along with the actual content of the weight of the offending drug while determining small and commercial quantities.
Decision
The court set aside the impugned judgment and remitted the matter back to the High Court for consideration of the appeal on merits keeping the aforesaid judgment in mind.
Case title: The State of Himachal Pradesh v/s Karuna Shanker Puri
Citation: CRIMINAL APPEAL NO.912/2010
Click here to read the Order/Judgment
