Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (Amendment) Act, 2021

The Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (Amendment) Act, 2021 was passed by the Parliament to replace the ordinance promulgated in September 2021. It amends the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985.

Need for the Amendment

• The Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act was amended in 2014 to reletter the clause 2 (viii a) of Section 2 as clause 2 (viii b) and insert a new clause 2 (viii a) which defines an “essential narcotic drug.”
• Before this amendment, clause 2 (viii a) of Section 2 contained sub-clauses (i) to (v), which defined the term “illicit traffic”.
• The punishments for financing illicit traffic was contained in Section 27 of the act, which was not amended to incorporate the changes done in clause 2 (viii a) of Section 2.Due to this error, Section 27 of the Act was virtually made inoperable.

Finer Points

• The amendment does not create any new offence but contains a legislative declaration that reference of clause (viii a) always meant the corresponding renumbered provision in clause (viii b) and the amendment seeks to rectify this anomaly by making changes in section 27A of the act.
• According to the amendment, it shall be deemed to have come into force on the 1st day of May, 2014. Thus, the act makes its application retrospective in nature.

Arguments against the Amendment

• The amendment makes application of the Act retrospective (in effect from 2014).
• The amendment doesn’t address the concern whether a penal provision in criminal law can be given retrospective effect legislatively.
• It is against Article 20 (1) of the constitution which prohibits the conviction of any person for an act which was not an offence under any law in place at the time the act was committed.