Justice Farjand Ali, Rajasthan High Court
Retesting Or Resampling Generally Prohibited Under NDPS Act; Cannot Be Done Routinely: Rajasthan High Court
|The Rajasthan High Court quashed an FIR registered under Sections 8, 22 and 29 of the NDPS Act over the alleged recovery of 3.376 kg of Mephedrone.
While stating that retesting or resampling cannot be done routinely or as a matter of course, the Rajasthan High Court held that the same is generally prohibited under the NDPS Act, however, it can only be considered in exceptional circumstances.
The Court has quashed an FIR registered under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 (NDPS Act) after reports from the forensic science laboratory (FSL) did not indicate any presence of a psychotropic substance in the seized samples. The Jodhpur Bench allowed the Petition under Section 482 of the CrPC for quashing of the FIR under Sections 8, 22 and 29 of the NDPS Act over the alleged recovery of 3.376 kg of Mephedrone (MD).
A Single Bench of Justice Farjand Ali held, “This Court is of the considered opinion that retesting or resampling is generally prohibited under the NDPS Act, however, in exceptional circumstances—such as when the sample has been damaged, has deteriorated, or has been accidentally wasted or consumed in the forensic laboratory—retesting or re-sampling may be considered… if the Trial Court deems it necessary to order retesting or re-sampling, it must not do so routinely or as a matter of course. It must provide specific reasons and establish reasonable grounds for such a direction after examining the police report and other materials on record.”
Advocate Ashok Upadhyay appeared for the Petitioners, while AAG Deepak Choudhary represented the Respondents.
Brief Facts
The FSL report revealed that the samples did not contain any psychotropic substance. Subsequent tests on preserved control samples also yielded negative results for Methamphetamine (MDMA) or any opium alkaloid or narcotic drug.
Court’s Reasoning
The High Court noted that the case was registered on suspicion of possession of contraband, but the suspicion was not confirmed by the chemical examiner's report.
“Though as on date there is no such relevance in this case since second sample report has been received and the issue may no longer relevant, it is being mentioned, purely as a matter of caution that any request for retesting or re-sampling cannot be entertained under the NDPS Act as a matter of course rather such a request may only be made in extremely exceptional circumstances, for cogent reasons to be recorded by the Presiding Judge, an application to this effect in such cases can be made within a period of 15 days of the receipt of the test report only then can an order to that effect be passed,” the Court explained.
The Bench remarked, “No application for retesting or re-sampling can be entertained thereafter. In the absence of any compelling circumstances, any form of re-sampling and retesting is prohibited under the NDPS Act. So, let it be made clear that no agency can send a sample for retesting or undertake re-sampling, outside the scope of the provisions and rules framed under the NDPS Act.”
“Only upon satisfaction of these conditions, and through a well-reasoned order, can the Trial Court direct retesting or resampling. In the absence of such justification, it is not permissible. In view of the legal as well as the factual position that no contraband is recovered in this case, the Misc. Petition deserves to be allowed,” the Bench held.
Consequently, the Court ordered, “Accordingly, the instant Misc. Petition is allowed. The FIR No.56/2024 registered at Police Station Jhab District Sanchore and all consequential proceedings pursuant thereto are hereby quashed and set aside. If petitioners are in custody, they shall be released forthwith.”
Accordingly, the High Court allowed the Petition.
Cause Title: Sadaram & Ors. v. State Of Rajasthan & Anr. (Neutral Citation: 2025:RJ-JD:16557)
Appearance:
Petitioners: Advocates Ashok Upadhyay and Ramesh Kumar
Respondents: AAG Deepak Choudhary; Deputy GA Vikram Singh Rajpurohit; AGA Suresh Bishnoi