Planting narcotics: An obnoxious crime

The multiplying number of drug cases not only in Kerala but also across India, is causing great concern to the government, judiciary, and all parents.  Novel modus operandi, the involvement of celebrities, and professionals are making daily headlines in newspapers and the visual media. Occasionally there is the jolting news of the involvement of enforcement agencies in drug cases. There are accusations of deliberate complicity, outright bungling, total ignorance of laws, and the stench of corruption, in many cases instituted by various enforcement agencies. The case of film actor Shah Rukh Khan’s son Aryan Khan comes immediately to mind, as it created an international sensation but ended up in a quagmire of allegations against the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) officers ranging from corruption to serious lapses in the investigation.

The case currently causing a sensation in Kerala is that of a lady Beauty Parlour owner, who had the mortification of being arrested by State Excise officials on drug charges and undergoing incarceration of 72 days. The Excise version is that the lady operated the parlor while also engaging in the illicit drug trade. The raid on the Beauty Parlour resulted in the seizure of white-colored powder, which was presumed to be LSD, and resulted in her arrest and a wide publicity blitz in the media. Keralites were of course jolted to read about the expanding drug trade. Another jolt came when the laboratory tests came negative for any kind of narcotic drugs. The Excise officials kept this development under wraps, and only the intrepidity of the lawyer saved the lady from extended incarceration. There is outrage at the obnoxious conduct of the Excise officials, and there is wide speculation whether there was a corruption angle, any sexual motive or was it just a plain shoddy investigation. Be it whatever, the trauma, ignominy, and suffering caused to the victim cannot be glossed over. There should be a full-fledged investigation into the entire episode which has also damaged the Excise department’s reputation and efficiency.

The Narcotics and Psychotropic Substances Act 1985 (NDPS Act) was originally drafted by senior IRS officials of the Customs Department. Since the provisions of the Act were extremely stringent, abundant care was taken to incorporate legal provisions to safeguard against booking false cases, planting of incriminating material, and mandatory procedures to be followed. Section 58 of the NDPS Act prescribes a stiff punishment of imprisonment of two years or with a fine or both for officers indulging in vexatious entry, search, seizure, or arrest.

In spite of such built-in safeguards in the Act, innumerable cases have come to light about cases that do not comply with legal safeguards. The observations of the Hon’ble High Court of Punjab and Haryana at Chandigarh, in Saji Mohan versus Narcotics Control Bureau, Chandigarh, CRA-D-375-DB-2013, Dated 2nd March 2015, is worth reproducing:
“The case in hand, exposes the murky underbelly of government agencies set up to stamp out the menace of narcotics, where the lines between the smuggler and the law enforcer are so blurred as to make it difficult to distinguish one from the other. The shadowy world of informers, spies, drug traffickers, officers of the Customs Department, the Narcotics Bureau are so enmeshed in a web of deceit and greed, as to be indistinguishable. A sad commentary on the functioning of these agencies”. 

The Appellant in the above case was Dr. Saji Mohan an IPS officer who was on deputation as Zonal Director, Chandigarh Zonal Unit of Narcotics Control Bureau, and was arrested by ATS Mumbai. The Sessions Court had sentenced him to fifteen years of rigorous imprisonment and a fine of Rs 1,50,000.

While handling narcotics cases, officers need to be very cautious and circumspect, in all respects. Acting on false information can land the officers in deep legal trouble. There are now cases being reported of estranged couples trying to implicate each other in planted narcotics cases. The case of NCB vs Saurabh Chadha Judgement of Special Judge NDPS: Patiala House Courts, New Delhi, SC No.845/16, dated 28/02/2018, relates to a case wherein a wife planted narcotics and implicated her husband due to marital discord!  Kerala is a State witnessing high divorce rates, fragile live-in-relationships, and elopements culminating in weddings under the Special Marriages Act. A discord at any time can result in a vengeful partner implicating the other in a planted narcotics case. Officers would get entangled in revenge dramas if they are not sensible and careful. 

Similarly, State of Maharashtra vs R.A. Pandey, NDPS Special Case No.54 of 2014, dated 30.08.2021, Special Judge for NDPS Cases for Greater Mumbai, deals with Maharashtra Police planting drugs on an innocent person.    

Coming to the current case of the Excise officers' professional misconduct and negligence, there cannot be any leniency whatsoever. In a State that is witnessing daily seizures of deadly synthetic drugs of all kinds, and the involvement of teenage boys and girls, every enforcement agency has to be extremely vigilant while processing information, recovering drugs, and recording the case proceedings. Great injustice and irreparable damage has been done to the victimized Beauty Parlour owner. The Government needs to order a full-scale probe into the episode and take appropriate action to adequately compensate the victim and also safeguard the reputation of the Excise Department.

The author is former Director General of National Academy of Customs, Indirect Taxes & Narcotics