NDPS (Amendment) Bill, 2021

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Last Updated09/12/2021

The Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Bill, 2021 was recently introduced in Lok Sabha.
It seeks to replace an ordinance promulgated on September 30 this year to correct a drafting error in a 2014 amendment to the Act..
It will amend the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985.

Clause (viii-a) of Section 2 of the Act contained sub-clauses (i) to (v), which defined the term “illicit traffic”.
The Act was amended in 2014 to ease the access of narcotic drugs for medical necessities but the penal provision was not amended accordingly.
Also, the clause number of the definition for such illicit activities was changed.
However, section 27A on penalty for financing these illicit activities was not amended and continued to refer to the earlier clause number of the definition.
The ordinance amended the section on penalty to change the reference to the new clause number.
In a recent judgment, Tripura High Court has held that ‘until the appropriate legislative change occurs by amending Section 27A of the NDPS Act appropriately, sub-clauses (i) to (v) of clause (viii-a) of Section 2 of the NDPS Act shall suffer effect of deletion.

It says that whoever indulges in financing, directly or indirectly, any of the activities specified in sub-clauses (i) to (v) of clause (viiia) of section 2 or harbours any person engaged in any of the aforementioned activities.
Offence punishable with rigorous imprisonment for a term of not less than ten years upto twenty years and shall also be liable to fine of not be less than one lakh rupees upto two lakh rupees:

The text of the provision says that offences mentioned under Section 2 (viiia) sub-clauses i-v are punishable through Section 27A.
However, Section 2 (viiia) sub-clauses i-v, which is supposed to be the catalog of offences, does not exist after the 2014 amendment.
So, if Section 27A penalises a blank list or a non-existent provision, it can be argued that it is virtually inoperable.

To help victims of drug abuse to rehabilitate.
Decriminalise possession of a limited quantity of drugs for personal use while regulating manufacturing, transport and consumption of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances.

New provision has retrospective effect from 1st May 2014.
Also violates fundamental rights in Article 20 because a person can be punished for an offence for which there is a law in existence at the time of commission of the offence.

Regulates certain operations like manufacture, transport and consumption of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances.
Financing certain illicit activities like cultivating cannabis, manufacturing narcotic drugs or harbouring persons engaged in them is an penal offence.
It is punishable with rigorous imprisonment of 10 years - 20 years and a fine of minimum Rs.1 lakh.
Has a provision for forfeiture of property used in illicit traffic in narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances.
Also provides for death penalty in some cases where a person is a repeat offender.
Narcotics Control Bureau was also constituted in 1986.

Narco-Coordination Centre: Constituted in 2016 .
Seizure Information Management System: A software by Narcotics Control Bureau that creates a complete online database of drug offences and offenders.
National Drug Abuse Survey: To measure trends of drug abuse in India through the Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment with the help of National Drug Dependence Treatment Centre of AIIMS.
Project Sunrise: Launched in 2016 by Ministry of Health to tackle the rising HIV prevalence in north-eastern states in India, especially among people injecting drugs.
NDPS Act: Prohibiting a person from producing, possessing, selling, purchasing, transporting, storing, and/or consuming any narcotic drug or psychotropic substance.
Nasha Mukt Bharat: Focuses on community outreach programs.