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Hira Singh and Another v. Union of India and Another

Criminal Appeal · 2020 INSC 348Decided 22 Apr 2020
Criminal Appeal No. 722 of 2017
Justice Arun Mishra · Justice Indira Banerjee · Justice M.R. Shah

Background

This judgment answers a question referred to a larger bench; it does not decide this appeal itself. The question was whether E. Micheal Raj v. Narcotic Control Bureau, which counted only the actual drug content of a seized mixture for sentencing, needed reconsideration.

Decision Breakdown

This is not a final judgment in this appeal. The three-judge bench overruled E. Micheal Raj and held that the weight of neutral substances in a seized mixture must be included in deciding whether the quantity is small or commercial. It directed that the individual appeals be placed before the appropriate bench to be decided on merits. One connected civil appeal challenging the 2009 notification was dismissed.

Lesson Learnt

Under the NDPS Act, the whole weight of a drug mixture, including neutral material, counts toward small or commercial quantity.

Official source (sci.gov.in)View Judgment (PDF)

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