Punjab: Mann govt to invoke law to detain drug lords for up to two years
These provisions under the PITNDPS Act empower the states and the Centre to take suspects into preventive custodies when the investigating agency is sure about their involvement in drug trade, but has not been able to book them because of lack of evidence or recoveries
In its attempt to strike hard on drug menace, the Aam Aadmi Party-led Punjab government has decided to invoke stringent provisions of the Prevention of Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (PITNDPS) Act, 1988, which allow preventive custody of suspected smugglers up to two years even if no recovery is made from them.
These provisions under the PITNDPS Act empower the states and the Centre to take suspects into preventive custodies when the investigating agency is sure about their involvement in drug trade, but has not been able to book them because of lack of evidence or recoveries.
Acting according to the Act, the Punjab government had in recent years even constituted an advisory board, but its tenure ended without the state ever using the provisions.
On January 24, the Bhagwant Mann-led government had reconstituted the three-member the board, which has the powers to listen to grievances of those being taken into preventive custody.
The government has appointed Justice Shabihul Hasnain (retd) as the chairperson of the board and advocates Suveer Sheokand and Divanshu Jain as its members.
It has been learnt that senior officials of the Punjab Police, including the DGP, have strongly batted for the use of the law citing examples of some specific cases involving drug lords active in heroin smuggling in Punjab.
“Such a need has been strongly felt as many big fish of the trade are smart enough to evade arrests. We had requested the government to allow us the rational use of these provisions,” Punjab DGP Gaurav Yadav said.
Even as a few states like Gujarat, Karnataka and Kerala have been using these provisions, Punjab, which faces widespread drug menace, had refrained from doing so in the past, a senior Punjab Police official said.
Home secretary to give permission
As per the provisions of the PITNDPS Act, the permission to take any person into preventive custody of up to maximum six months has to be taken from the home secretary of the state.
After any detention, the probe agency has to inform the advisory board, which after considering the reference and materials placed before it and hearing from the accused, will prepare its report specifying in a separate paragraph thereof its opinion as to whether or not there is sufficient cause for the detention of the person concerned and submit the same within 11 weeks from the detention to the home secretary.
When there is a difference, opinion of the majority of such members will be deemed to be the opinion of the board, the Act mentions.
The person against whom the detention order has been made will not be entitled to be represented by any legal practitioner in any matter connected with the reference to the advisory board and the proceedings of the board and its report, except that part wherein the opinion of the advisory board is specified, will be confidential.
The Act mentions that where the advisory board has reported that there is in its opinion sufficient cause for the detention of a person, the appropriate government may confirm the order and continue the detention of the person concerned for a period it thinks fit and in every case where the advisory board has reported that there is no sufficient cause for the detention, the government will revoke the detention order and the person will be released.
In special cases in which the advisory board is convinced about the preventive custody, there is a provision of detention in the Act up to two years as well.
Recently, Jammu and Kashmir had used the Act to detain few smugglers. In December, the Kerala government had invoked the provisions of the Act to take preventive custody of a person facing various cases of drug smuggling, who was on bail.
The previous Congress and SAD-BJP governments in the state had proposed Punjab Control of Organised Crime Act (PCOCA) to deal with gangsters with strict provisions. The proposals had said that an officer of DIG rank would invoke the PCOCA.
However, the enactment of the Act was shelved fearing its misuse for settling political scores.