Aastha Thakur
Published on: 19 October 2022 at 17:51 IST
On October 18, the Supreme Court emphasised how drug abuse has engulfed society, and the government claimed that top Departments like the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and Directorate of Revenue Intelligence are looking into ways to close gaps and strengthen preventive measures to deal with the problem while also looking into a potential “narco-terror angle.”
The bench led by CJI UU Lalit responded that, “Drug menace is gripping the society. We need you to think of some of the module, ideas which can translate as an order which we can pass to govern the entire situation,”
Advocate Shoeb Alam appearing as amicus curiae, submitted before the court that since the pandemic, the drug problem has gotten worse. Users and pushers of the drug use the dark web to conduct their business. Drugs are transported using postal and courier services.
The distribution networks have expanded and become more organised, methodical, and broad. He claimed that in recent months, drugs worth 30,000 crore have been seized. He made reference to the recent drug find at the Mundra port. He cited studies by the Narcotics Control Bureau, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, the Comptroller and Auditor General, and even the AIIMS that demonstrated that a “sizeable population” suffered from addiction.
The Court asked both Ms. Aishwarya Bhati representing Centre and Mr. Alam to discuss together and “It is a matter of demand and supply,” Mr. Alam submitted.
The court asked Ms. Bhati and Mr. Alam to sit together & come up with a practical response to the problem. The Court scheduled listed the matter after five weeks.
Further, the court invited the Center to the previous hearing of the suo motu case while noting that the drug mafia’s incursions into society, particularly among young people, pose a “grave situation.”
SC took the cognizance of the matter on the basis of letter highlighting the shocking increase in drug abuse, especially among school children and youths.
Several High Courts in the nation have previously acknowledged the negative impact the drug mafia has had on society.
The Madras High Court noted that one of the primary causes of the occurrence of heinous crimes was drug misuse in 2020. The High Court called attention to the extensive power that drug dealers exert in educational institutions and other public spaces.
The State government had been ordered by the Kerala High Court to set up campus police units in educational institutions. The widespread drug problem in Punjab is the subject of a case now being heard by the Punjab and Haryana High Court.