The Supreme Court on Monday directed the Centre, states and Union Territories to expedite the establishment of dedicated courts to deal with cases under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, citing the “alarming increase” in such cases and the existing pendency.
A three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice Surya Kant said the required special courts should be established at the earliest and directed the authorities to provide the necessary infrastructure, preferably within six weeks. The bench also comprised Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana.
Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati informed the court that 449 special courts were required to effectively deal with NDPS cases, of which 176 were already functional.
“In view of the present pendency of cases and the unfortunate, alarming increase in the cases under the NDPS Act, it is expedient and in the interest of justice” that the remaining courts be established at the earliest, the bench said.
The directions were issued while hearing a suo motu case concerning the creation of special exclusive courts.
The court was also informed that eight new courts had been established to exclusively deal with cases investigated by the National Investigation Agency (NIA), taking the total number of such courts across the country to 22.
The bench observed that the objective of its earlier direction to establish at least one special court for every 10 to 15 pending NIA trials had been “largely achieved” with the cooperation of the Centre, state governments and high courts.
Several states gave timelines for setting up additional NIA courts. Karnataka and Tamil Nadu said they would establish three and two courts, respectively, within two weeks, while Kerala said two courts would become operational within a month.
The court directed Assam to make its two proposed NIA courts operational within four weeks and asked West Bengal to set up three additional courts besides its two existing NIA courts.
Jammu and Kashmir told the court that four NIA courts were required, of which one was already functional. Uttarakhand said it had one NIA court but no pending cases, while Uttar Pradesh and Bihar said they had one and two NIA courts, respectively.
The Supreme Court had earlier sought details from all states and UTs on pending terror and narcotics cases being investigated by central and state agencies, including the NIA and Narcotics Control Bureau, to assess the requirement for special exclusive courts.
It had also asked the Centre to consider providing Rs 1 crore each to states and UTs for setting up courts to deal with cases under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and the NDPS Act.
The court has repeatedly stressed that expeditious disposal of such cases is necessary to protect the rights of both accused persons and victims. The suo motu proceedings were initiated amid concerns over NIA trials remaining pending for several years.
(With inputs from PTI)