Did the State police fail to follow the Standing Order of the Government of India regarding testing of seized drugs?
Irregularity in the process of sampling of the seized heroin was an issue that figured in the Meghalaya High Court hearing of a bail petition of a person arrested for possession of drugs.
It may be mentioned that Promod Chettri was arrested on May 3, 2023 in connection with Nongpoh P.S. Case No. 51(5) 2023 under Section 21(b)/29 of the NDPS Act, 1985.
The charge sheet against him has been filed by the Investigating Officer and the matter is now proceeding for trial before the Court of the Special Judge (NDPS), Nongpoh, Ri-Bhoi District.
Out of nine witnesses cited by the prosecution, six of them have already been examined and the case is at the fag end of its conclusion.
During the hearing of the bail plea, P Chettri, the lawyer for the accused stated that the process of sampling of the seized heroin was not done as per the guidelines of the Standing Order No. 1/1989 issued by the Government of India on the aspect of sampling, testing and measurement of the recovered drugs.
While ordering for the release of Chettri on bail, the High Court bench of Justice Wanlura Diengdoh today said that the contention that the Standing Order has not been complied with in its entirety is subjected to scrutiny before the trial court.
“However, prima facie, it appears that there has occurred such irregularity which has caused prejudice to the accused person,” the High Court said.
During the hearing, Chettri’s lawyer stated that the alleged heroin seized from him was initially found in four containers. However, during the test of the heroin conducted on May 3, 2023 at 12:25 am, the contents of all the four containers were deposited into one transparent plastic bag from which a sample is taken for testing, which according to the preliminary test report showed that the sample is positive for heroin.
The lawyer said that such a process of drug test conducted by the police is clearly in contravention of the Standing Order No. 1/1989 issued by the Government of India on the aspect of sampling, testing and measurement of the recovered drugs. The lawyer also cited Para 2.3 and Para 2.4 of the Standing Order.
As per Para 2.3 of the Standing Order, “the quantity to be drawn in each sample for chemical test shall not be less than 5 grams in respect of all narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances save in the cases of opium, ganja and charas (hashish) where a quantity of 24 grams in each case is required for chemical test. The same quantities shall be taken for the duplicate sample also. The seized drugs in the packages/containers shall be well mixed to make it homogeneous and representative before the sample (in duplicate) is drawn.”
Para 2.4 of the Standing Order says, “In the case of seizure of a single package/container, one sample in duplicate shall be drawn. Normally, it is advisable to draw one sample (in duplicate) from each package/container in case of seizure of more than one package/container.”
The lawyer further stated that records showed that the Standing Order No. 1/1989 has not been complied with by the prosecution or the police and as such, the benefit of doubt would go in favour of the accused person.
