Is India becoming global transit hub of party drugs, asks HC

Passing the direction, a division bench comprising Justice N Kirubakaran and Justice VM Velumani raised a volley of questions, including the details of cases booked under the Prevention of Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1988, in the past 10 years; the quantity and rate of the drugs seized; the number of cases registered, persons released and the reasons for their release; and the number of foreigners involved. The bench also sought the effect of the use of narcotics and the crimes connected to them, especially against women and children. These questions were raised while the bench was hearing a habeas corpus plea moved by one Chitra seeking to produce her husband Vijayakumar of Vellore and set him free.

Vijayakumar was booked under the Prevention of Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1988, and was subsequently detained under Goondas Act from November 18, 2019. Challenging it, Chitra moved the High Court seeking to quash his detention under the Goondas Act. When the government advocate submitted that the first and second accused in the case were brothers who were ferrying the drugs on their vehicle, the bench led by Justice Kirubakaran expressed strong reservation about the growing instances of drug abuse in the country and that India has seemingly become a major transit hub for drugs leading to various societal ills. It then suo motu included various State and central agencies involved in the prevention of drug smuggling and also the State Home Secretary, and posed these questions.