NDPS Act, Being A Presumptive Legislation, The Interpretation Has To Be Strict: SC [Read Order]

The Supreme Court bench of Justices L.Nageswara Rao and Navin Sinha, on Thursday, in a case under the NDPS Act, restored the acquittal by the Additional Sessions Judge, Ludhiana of an accused, which was reversed by the Punjab and Haryana High Court.

The High Court, on an appeal by the State, convicted and sentenced the appellant before the Supreme Court, to rigorous imprisonment of 10 years with a fine of Rs.1 lakh, under Section 15 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985. Despite a finding of defective investigation, the High Court set aside the acquittal holding the trial court judgment to be perverse, the Supreme Court order, authored by Justice Navin Sinha, noted.

The appellant was tried along with the co-accused, who was acquitted by the High Court. But the State did not prefer any appeal against his acquittal. “We have serious reservations with regard to the selective act of the State in challenging the appellant’s acquittal alone”, Justice Sinha observed.

The interest of justice calls for restoring the order of the acquittal passed by the Sessions Judge, the Supreme Court held, setting aside the order of the High Court in appeal. The Court set the appellant, Mohinder Singh, at liberty, unless wanted in any other case, and discharged his bail bonds, thus allowing his appeal.

Read the Judgment here.