Kolkata: The Calcutta High Court on Wednesday directed action against two judicial officers for failing to ensure legal representation for an accused in a case under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act.
The bench of Justice Krishna Rao passed the order while granting bail to the petitioner who was arrested in March 2024 after 40 bottles of a cough syrup were allegedly seized from his residence.
The court observed that the petitioner remained undefended when produced before both the Chief Judicial Magistrate and the District and Sessions Judge (NDPS Court), Alipurduar, in clear violation of his right to legal aid.
“This order be forwarded to the Registrar General of the High Court for information of the Hon’ble the Chief Justice and necessary action against the Chief Judicial Magistrate and District and Sessions Judge (NDPS), Alipurduar for not offering Advocate from Legal Aid to the petitioner as at the time of production, the petitioner was undefended,” the court directed.
The petitioner argued that he was not informed of the grounds of his arrest, in violation of Article 22(1) of the Constitution and Section 52(1) of the NDPS Act. The prosecution contended that the grounds were explained verbally and that written communication was unnecessary.
However, the court found that the arrest memo made no mention of the grounds of arrest, nor did it include a column for such information.
Although the written complaint and case diary claimed that grounds were communicated, no documentary proof was submitted.
Justice Rao held that the arresting officer violated constitutional and statutory provisions. “The mode of conveying information of the grounds of arrest must necessarily be meaningful... In the present case, the same is missing,” he stated.