Supreme Court Issues Notice To Union & States On PIL Seeking Steps To Expedite NDPS Trials & Tackle Drug Abuse

The Supreme Court today issued notice to the Union and all States on a PIL seeking directions to tackle drug menace in the country, including a declaration that sentences in NDPS cases shall run consecutively.

A bench of CJI Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice V Mohana passed the order in the public interest litigation initiated by Advocate Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay. The case was directed to be listed alongwith a suo motu case taken up by the Court (2022) on similar issues.

During the hearing, Advocate Upadhyay contended that incidents of drug addicts causing harm to their families get frequently reported in newspapers. The CJI responded that the problem is indeed very serious and affects the entire country. However, the judge added that for tackling the rising menace of drugs, coordinate efforts are required on the part of expert agencies and the law and order machinery.

At this point, Upadhyay gave the example of Singapore, stating that the country is entirely drug-free. Justice Bagchi, in response, noted that Singapore is a small country with high per-capita income, whereas India has a border with countries like Afghanistan and Myanmar. The judge said that these factors are relevant in controlling such issues.

Ultimately, the bench issued notice and tagged the petition with the pending suo motu case.

Briefly put, the PIL seeks directions to the Centre and States to: (i) prescribe a mandatory timeline for submission of FSL reports in NDPS cases, (ii) formulate an SOP for search, seizure and sampling in small and intermediate quantity cases, (iii) constitute and Expert Committee for identification and timely scheduling of New Psychotropic substances, and (iv) constitute Special Courts under Sections 36 and 36A and frame SOP for timebound investigation and speedy trial.

It further seeks establishment of rehabilitation centres and other programmes under Sections 39 and 64A of the Act. Directions have also been sought for mandatory digital recording and videography of search, seizure and sampling of inventory proceedings.

The petitioner further prays for framing of a graded sentencing policy, under which punishment is proportionate for traffickers and financiers on one hand and addicts and personal use offenders on the other.

The petition cites reports of various incidents related to drug addiction. It points out that nearly 2 lakh people die unnatural deaths and 20000 suffer from serious physical and mental diseases every year due to narcotics abuse. 

It highlights the issue of drug smuggling as well, including by way of drones, underlining that there was a surge of 53 percent in drugs cases in 2025. Out of the total seizures, apparently 51% was accounted for by cannabis and 29% by opiates.

The petitioner further mentions that there is no permanent mechanism as of now to identify in a timely manner new psychotropic substances, which allows rapid proliferation of new psychotropic substances, like synthetic opioids, which are more potent than conventional narcotics.

He also highlights the physical, mental, social and public order impact of drugs use in the country. Among some of the concerns flagged are, dependence syndrome, depression, domestic violence, spousal homicide, smuggling, crime, organized trafficking and drug-related road incidents.

Notably, in May, the CJI bench pulled up Punjab State authorities over their failure to tackle drug abuse and trafficking in the state. The CJI in particular commented that the State police makes arrest of small-level peddlers for publicity, but fails to act against those running the rackets, including some influential persons.

Case : ASHWINI KUMAR UPADHYAY v. UNION OF INDIA AND ORS. W.P.(Crl.) No. 288/2026