"Article 21 signifies healthy, reach and contentful orderly life."

High Court of Gujarat has ruled that no one can claim addiction to a drug or a narcotic substance as fundamental right. This plea is divorced to the concept of right to live as per Article 21 of the Constitution.High Court DB while turning down petitions filed by poppy capsule addicts, who were opposing absolute ban by Gujarat government since April 1 on poppy capsule and straw. The State Government claimed that it was imposing ban as per the Centre's guidelines by stopping earlier arrangement of supplying poppy capsules to addicts under license system.

The addicts moved had move the HC against this decision claiming fundamental right under Article 21 to consume and have poppy capsules.

Ruing the demand by the addicts that their supply of poppy capsules should continue as a matter of their right, the HC said, "There cannot be a right to consume substances like poppy straw, much less the same can by any stretched be viewed or claimed as fundamental right flowing from Article 21,Constitution. The concept of 'life' encapsulated under Article 21 signifies healthy, reach and contentful orderly life."

The high court further said, "Right to health is recognized as part of Article 21. A consumption of intoxicant or narcotic or psychotropic substance is antithetic to the concept of health and therefore stands divorced from the right to life and from any other concomitant rights which may be claimed under the canopy of rights under Article 21. Right of such nature cannot be claimed as fundamental."

The High Court has also upheld the state government's contention that poppy capsules do not have any medicinal value at all.

At present, opium is grown in Chittorgarh in Rajasthan, Mandsaur, Ratlam, Neemuch in Madhya Pradesh and Barabanki, Bareilly, Lucknow and Faizabad,Uttar Pradesh. It is estimated that cultivation takes place on 60,000 acres of land and the governments have issued over 44,000 licenses to people.

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