CHENNAI: Twenty years after the Narcotics Control Bureau in Chennai and Mumbai accused three Chennai men and their Mumbai-based trade partners for exporting anti-anxiety drugs to the US using fake prescriptions, a trial court in Chennai on September 12 acquitted them of all charges.
That the company had a valid licence to stock Alprazolam and Diazepam, covered under Schedule H of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, was a clincher for the defendants. The judge pointed out that the entire prosecution theory, search and seizure “exemplified the lack of understanding of provisions of NDPS Act and Drugs and Cosmetics Act.”
In October 2004, NCB acted on some information and filed a case under NDPS Act against D Yuvaraj, M Chandramouli, KS Rajesh Kumar and their company Vulcan Direct in Triplicane. Their Mumbai partners Roshan and Nikhil Kapadia and their company Trade Ventures International and Trade X were also arraigned as accused in the case. NCB’s case was that the men were receiving orders through email and exporting them to the US through courier services.
During trial, among other things, the prosecution said that the firm had failed to take permission from the Central Bureau Narcotic Commissioner in Gwalior. However, the judge accepted the defense’s contention that the export authorisation from Gwalior was not required as the drugs seized did not fall under the EXIM licence policy.
One of the key points debated was how the drugs seized were not marked with the ‘NRx’ tag and had only ‘Rx’. The former indicates drugs that contain substances that come under the purview of the NDPS Act, while the latter indicates just drugs that can be bought only with a prescription from a doctor.
The judge pointed out that the drugs seized were stuff available in the open market and that the company had a legal licence to sell, stock and distribute it. They were also proper dealers registered with government bodies and had an import-export certificate from the commerce ministry. “ They are not drug peddlers; they have all proper documents,” the judge noted, adding that even all financial transactions were done in a legal manner.
The judge also found that the prosecution had not probed the role of the bogus prescription given by an US doctor. Overall, the entire case originated on a misconceived notion, the judge said, ordering the acquittal.