Narcotics Cases

What this covers

We defend prosecutions under the Narcotics Control Act 2018, from the first production and bail through trial and appeal. The quantity alleged usually decides the severity, so the seizure and the way it was recorded are central to the defence.

Seizure and procedure

The law prescribes how a search and seizure must be carried out, recorded and witnessed, and how samples are handled and tested. Departures from that procedure are not technicalities: they go to whether the case can be proved at all. We examine the seizure list, the witnesses to it and the chemical examination closely.

Bail

Bail in narcotics cases is restricted, and the restriction bites hardest where the alleged quantity is high. Where the quantity, the role attributed to the accused or the state of the evidence permits, we make the application and take it up if refused.

Role and possession

Not everyone present is in possession. Where a person is implicated by association, by a vehicle or by a statement of a co-accused, that is a defence to be built on the evidence rather than assumed away.

What helps

• The FIR, seizure list and the alleged quantity
• Names of seizure witnesses and where the recovery is said to have happened
• The chemical examination report and its dates
• Details of the connection, or lack of it, to the place or vehicle

Where it is heard, and how long it takes

These cases are tried in the courts and tribunals designated under the Act, with severity keyed to the quantity involved. Trials commonly run over a year. Because bail is restricted, the early applications and any challenge to the seizure carry a great deal of weight.