Will move Supreme Court, says Narcotics Control Bureau zonal head

Zonal director of the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), Maharashtra and Goa, Yashodhan Wanage reacts to the Bombay high court’s recent decision to revoke the mandatory death penalty for second-time offenders in drug trafficking cases.

What does the apex drug law enforcement agency think about the recent Bombay high court decision?
We are strongly opposed to the decision. In other countries, narcotics cases are dealt with strictly and capital punishment is awarded in the first conviction itself. As per our law, the death penalty was awarded only if the accused was found guilty a second time. This created fear in the minds of drug traffickers, who kept away from the business after their first conviction.

What is the NCB planning to do?
The decision has been taken by one high court of the country. We will move the Supreme Court against it.

The convicts in most cases have been foot soldiers or drug carriers, while the real kingpins were never nabbed. If nabbed, they were not convicted.
In several cases, the foot soldiers revealed the names of the kingpins and we managed to nab them too. The problem is that when a kingpin is produced in court, he gets the advantage of saying that the drug was not found in his possession. Despite the prosecution having enough evidence, the court often grants him bail, stating that he could be part of the conspiracy but not the main accused.

What other hurdles does the agency face in getting the accused convicted?
In cases of inter-state drug supply or smuggling, there is often a problem in establishing the source of the drug. Though the accused reveals details about where he got the drug from, no further evidence is obtained to prove it.