HC seeks info on drug peddling

The Madras High Court on Thursday directed the Centre and the Tamil Nadu government to submit a report on whether India was used as a hub to smuggle drugs by foreign and local mafias as it said the crux of the matter in drug peddling and abuse needed to be taken up to safeguard fundamental rights of citizens.

The Madras High Court on Thursday directed the Centre and the Tamil Nadu government to submit a report on whether India was used as a hub to smuggle drugs by foreign and local mafias as it said the crux of the matter in drug peddling and abuse needed to be taken up to safeguard fundamental rights of citizens. A bench of Justice N.Kirubakaran and Justice V M Velumani voiced concern that many youngsters, especially students, were getting addicted to drugs, resulting in commission of many heinous crimes.

Impleading the Union Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, the Narcotics Control Bureau, Chennai Zone, and the Tamil Nadu police chief, the bench directed them to answer questions including the cases registered under Narcotics Act in the past 10 years in the country and the state and the quantity seized. It is known that Punjab is the transit point on the drug route and the state has become a major consumer base" where youngsters and students were mostly addicted to the narcotics, it said adding same situation should not be allowed to spread to other states.

The bench also referred to an affidavit filed by Kerala police in the state high court that educational institutions in Kerala have become a hotbed of drug peddlers and there was alarming increase in demand for intoxicating substances among the youth and children. As a custodian of fundamental rights and human rights, this court would be shirking its responsibility to safeguard the interest of the general public, it said while setting aside the Goondas Act detention order of an alleged drug offender.

Latest UN report on drug use revealed 30 per cent increase in the consumption of narcotics in the last decade with some 35 million people worldwide suffering from drug disorders.... The death toll also increased and about 5,85,000 people dying in 2017 from drug use," the bench said. It posted the matter to July 28 for further hearing.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)