PIT-NDPS Act: Proposals awaiting nod, Punjab Police mull approaching MHA
Last week, NCB managed to detain three smugglers after getting sanctions from the Union home ministry
After the Narcotics Crime Bureau (NCB) managed to get sanctions from the Union home ministry to detain three drug smugglers under the Prevention of Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (PIT-NDPS) Act and sent them to Dibrugarh jail in Assam, the Punjab Police is also planning to take the same route.
The PIT-NDPS Act 1988, provides for the preventive detention of repeat offenders. Section 3 of the Act empowers the government to detain people engaging in illicit trafficking of drugs and psychotropic substances, while section 9 provides for the constitution of an advisory board for looking into grievances of those being taken into custody.
Punjab Police’s much-hyped plans to take preventive custody of repeat drug smugglers and their conduits hit a roadblock after the Punjab home department refused to give permission.
As per a senior Punjab Police official at least 70 proposals are pending with the state home department. Out of these around 30 were sent four months ago.
NCB had also sent these proposals to the Punjab home department as well eight months ago.
“However, after necessary sanctions were not given by the state home department, the agency sent the same proposals to the Union home ministry following which a joint secretary rank officer gave the sanctions”, said a senior NCB official, who didn’t wish to be named.
NCB officials said that under section 3 of the PIT-NDPS, the power to order the detention of certain persons is with the central government or state government, or any officer of the central government, not below the rank of a joint secretary.
Now, the Punjab Police is also contemplating following the NCB’s footsteps and sending proposals to the MHA after discussing the issue with the government.
“As more than 70 proposals of preventive custody under PIT-NDPS are pending with the state home department which was not giving the desired sanctions even after clearing all objections, we have decided to approach MHA. We are discussing the issue at the government level before finally moving before the MHA,” a senior Punjab Police functionary said, pleading anonymity.
The state government by chief minister Bhagwant Mann had given a go-ahead to implement the PIT-NDPS on January 24 last year after a strong perusal of the case by the Punjab director general of police.
A senior officer behind preparing the proposals said that the home department is apprehensive about getting into a legal tangle over the issue and is thus dragging its feet in giving the desired sanctions.
“However, in the Act, it is clear that whosoever gives permission is not liable for any legal scrutiny. The entire onus is on the board constituted by the government. The board can uphold or cancel the orders of the custody,” the official said.
In keeping with the provisions, the Punjab Government had earlier last year reconstituted a three-member advisory committee headed by Justice Shabihul Hasnain (retd) with advocates Suveer Sheokand and Divanshu Jain as its members.
The NCB on August 17 detained two drug smugglers, Akshay Chhabra and Jaspal Singh, alias Goldy lodged in Bathinda jail under the PIT-NDPS Act and sent them to Dibrugarh Jail. Earlier, on August 13, PIT-NDPS Act was invoked for the first time in Punjab with notorious drug smuggler Balwinder Singh, alias Billa Sarpanch, alias Billa Havellian was taken into preventive custody and sent to Dibrugarh.