The Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 (the NDPS Act) was enacted to consolidate and amend the law relating to narcotic drugs, to make stringent provisions for the control and regulation of operation relating to narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances, to provide for the forfeiture of property derived from, or used in, illicit traffic in narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances and to implement the provisions of the International Convention on Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances and for matters connected therewith. The NDPS Act was amended in the years 1989, 2001 and lastly in the year 2014.
Prior to the amendment of 2014 in the NDPS Act, clause (viiia) of section 2 of the said Act, contained sub-clauses (i) to (v), wherein the term 'illicit traffic' had been defined. This clause was re-lettered as clause (viiib) by the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (Amendment) Act, 2014, as a new clause (viiia) in section 2 defining 'essential narcotic drugs' was inserted. However, inadvertently consequential change was not carried out in section 27A of the NDPS Act, at the time of amendment in section 2 by the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (Amendment) Act, 2014.
In a recent judgment, Hon'ble High Court of Tripura, passed in Crl. Ref. 1/2020- Court on its Own Motion vs The Union of India has held that 'until the appropriate legislative change occurs by amending section 27A of the NDPS Act appropriately, sub-clauses (i) to (v) of clause (viiia) of section 2 of the NDPS Act shall suffer effect of deletion and bringing in sub-clauses (i) to (v) of clause (viiib) of section 2 of the NDPS Act in that place' and directed to take appropriate steps for amendment as required in section 27A. Hence, with a view to have correct interpretation and implementation of the NDPS Act, it was decided to rectify the anomaly in section 27A of the Act by substituting 'clause (viiib)' in place of 'clause (viiia)' in section 27A.
As Parliament was not in session and urgent legislation was required to be made, the President promulgated the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (Amendment) Ordinance, 2021 (Ord. 8 of 2021) on the 30th September, 2021 for rectifying the said anomaly by substituting in section 27A of the NDPS Act, the reference of "clause (viiib) of section 2", for "clause (viiia) of section 2". 5. The amendment does not create any new offence but contains a legislative declaration that reference of clause (viiia) always meant the corresponding renumbered provision in clause (viiib) and the amendment seeks to rectify this anomaly by making changes in section 27A of the said Act in order to carry out the legislative intent of the statute, which has always been to read clause (viiib) in section 27A, and already stood therein
Picture Source :
