Delhi High Court Refuses To Decriminalise 'Ganja', Asks Centre To Review NDPS Act
The Delhi High Court has asked the Central Government to review whether the provisions of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act and the NDPS Rules relating to the use of cannabis (ganja) require dilution.
A Division Bench of Justices Prathiba M. Singh and Madhu Jain were hearing a batch of petitions seeking decriminalisation or dilution of restrictions on cannabis, including ganja, for medicinal, industrial, economic, ecological and other benefits.
Petitioner- Great Legislation Movement India Trust argued that the existing legal framework under the NDPS Act does not adequately account for evolving scientific research, medical usage, and global regulatory trends concerning cannabis.
Centre on the other hand submitted that there is not a complete ban on the use of cannabis and NDPS Act has incorporated sufficient provisions to allow the use of cannabis for medicinal and scientific purposes.
While declining to issue any judicial directions on decriminalisation, the Court observed that the question of whether the NDPS Act and Rules require dilution falls squarely within the executive and legislative domain.
It accordingly directed the Centre to examine the issue, stating, “There are various aspects that deserve to be considered in this matter. The material above and the submissions made by Union of India would show that the use of cannabis, if to be permitted, has to be under certain formal regulations which are framed for this purpose. Accordingly, the same would also be a policy decision and not an issue for adjudication, at this stage, by the Court.”
The Court thus directed the Union of India to undertake a stakeholder consultation and review as to “whether there is a need for dilution of the provisions of the NDPS Act and NDPS Rules relating to the use of cannabis and if so for what purposes.”
The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) was identified as the nodal agency for coordinating the consultation process.
Appearance: Mr. R. Abhishek, Mr. Avinash Sharma, Mr. Sidhi Pramodh and Mr. Praveen Kumar, Advs. for Petitioner; Ms. Anubha Bhardwaj, CGSC for UOI with Ms. Ananya Shamshery, Ms. Anchal Kashyap and Mr. Vijay Misra, Advs. for Respondents
Case title: Great Legislation Movement India Trust v. UoI
Case no.: W.P.(C) 7608/2019