NDPS Act: Madhya Pradesh High Court To Examine Feasibility Of Applying Forensic Botany & Soil Testing To Nab 'Contraband Cultivators'

While hearing a third bail application filed by an accused who is allegedly the cultivator of the seized opium in an NDPS case, Madhya Pradesh High Court has set the ball rolling for studying the feasibility of Forensic Botany in examining the fields where the contraband is suspected to have been cultivated. The single-judge bench of Justice Anand Pathak had earlier noted that a mechanism should be put in place to prevent the cultivators from escaping the clutches of law by citing that the source of implication is only a false allegation of the co-accused in the memo under Section 27 of the Evidence Act. On 28.02.2024, the court was informed by Advocates Vibhore Sahu and Akashat Jain that the study of Pollen Grain and Spores [Palynology] would be useful to detect the origin of Psychotropic Substances, citing a case report from New Zealand. In a further development on 12.03.2024, the single judge bench framed the following hypothetical question, among others, for reaching a definitive solution in the issue of apprehending the apex perpetrators/main accused: “Whether any contraband article which is recovered and seized by the Police/NCB/CBN can undergo DNA sampling or study of Pollen Grain/Spores (Palynology) etc. to ascertain the source of Geographical Region where that crop got cultivated”. One of the other questions that require consideration would be whether Satellite Monitoring and Ground Sampling can help in cataloguing different regions where the illegal substances are cultivated, the court observed. Moreover, another question that demands a satisfactory answer as per the court is whether soil testing can reveal any indicators as to whether it has been used for cultivating NDPS substances in the last one year or two. Additionally, whether any marker can be deciphered through water spray or pesticides in the soil composition to indicate the exact origin of the illegal articles is another aspect to be probed, the court opined. The court has also mentioned the possibility of deploying carbon dating and similar scientific tools to see if the origin of the place of cultivated contraband can be traced or not. According to the court, it is equally important to see if any soil left on the plant bodies in the seized packages can be compared with the soil where the contraband is likely to be cultivated. “It appears that National Forensic Science University, Gandhi Nagar would also be of much help in the cause because it is a Nodal Institution for matters related to NDPS Act and related subject. Their expertise and input would be useful and relevant”, Justice Pathak added that the State should coordinate with the said institution in this regard. It is pertinent to note here that all these questions have been framed by the court with the belief that their answers would help ascertain whether the seized contraband was cultivated in the land owned by the accused in many cases, which might have been later sold to middlemen, and then transported to various regions for sale. Drug trafficking can only be tackled effectively by going to the source of cultivation of the contraband, the court had earlier made a prima facie observation. In Arvind Singh v. State of M.P (2023), MP High Court had specifically directed the officers to investigate the role of apex perpetrators/main accused in NDPS cases. According to the court order in December 2023, the Police Department has even incorporated the concept of investigation against apex perpetrators in Police Academies & Training Schools. The bail application filed by the accused under Section 439 CrPC has been placed for further orders on 22.04.2024. The applicant, Mukesh Meena, was arrested by Banmore Police Station for committing offences under Sections 8/15 of the Act in October 2023. Due to the initiative taken by the Additional Advocate General, Vice Chancelor of Rajmata Vijyaraje Scindia Agricultural University, Gwalior and Shri Elanchezian and Shri Mohanty from Indian Council of Agricultural Research (Soil Research) Bhopal had marked their presence before the court through V.C. mode. These officials were also supportive of the concepts of Soil Testing and DNA Sampling of crops to ascertain the cultivated crops in a specific region. “Considering the rising nature of cases of cultivation of Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic substances, especially Opium and Ganja, it is imperative that more scientific tools be harnessed in crime investigation of NDPS cases…”, the court had noted at the inception of the proceedings when the matter was called on 21.02.2024. Even if the contraband has not been recovered from the accused, it should be probed if it is practically feasible to conclude that certain land has been used earlier to cultivate some contraband substance, the court had noted then. Advocate Rajmani Bansal appeared for the bail applicant. AAG Vivek Khedkar and...

NDPS Act: Madhya Pradesh High Court To Examine Feasibility Of Applying Forensic Botany & Soil Testing To Nab 'Contraband Cultivators'

Sebin James

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