Denash v. State of Tamil Nadu 2025 INSC 1258 - S.60 NDPS Act- Interim Custody Of Seized Conveyance

Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (Seizure, Storage, Sampling and Disposal) Rules, 2022 - Rules of 2022 cannot be interpreted as divesting the Special Courts of their jurisdiction to entertain an application for interim custody or release of a seized conveyance under Sections 451 and 457 of CrPC [Sections 497 and 503 of BNSS]. The authority of the Special Court to pass appropriate orders for interim custody during the pendency of the trial, as well as to make final determination upon its conclusion, continues to operate independently of the disposal mechanism envisaged under the said Rules. (Para 29) [Context: SC set aside HC judgment that held that High Court, pursuant to the promulgation of the Rules of 2022, all other forums, including the Special Court, are divested of the jurisdiction to decide the fate of a seized conveyance under the NDPS Act and that the aggrieved person must necessarily approach the Drug Disposal Committee

NDPS Act - Interim Release Of Seized Vehicle - In this case, contraband was recovered from the possession of the agent of the owner- But Supreme Court granted interim custody of the vehicle as it noted that the overall circumstances clearly indicate his bonafides and absence of any involvement in the drugs being carried in the vehicle. [Distinguished Bishwajit Dey v. State of Assam] (Para 35)

Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985: Sections 60,63 - The power to determine whether or not a seized conveyance is liable to confiscation vests in the Special Court constituted under the NDPS Act and not in any administrative or executive authority such as the Drug Disposal Committee. The statute stipulates that where an owner proves absence of knowledge or connivance, the Special Court is dutybound to hear such claim before deciding the fate of the seized vehicle including confiscation - The confiscation or otherwise of a conveyance is to be determined finally, only upon conclusion of the trial, and until such adjudication, the ownership rights of the owner, who prima facie establishes that he is unconnected with the seized contraband, from claiming the seized vehicle cannot be extinguished. The power of confiscation is coupled with a duty to observe procedural fairness and to ensure that no prejudice is caused to an innocent owner who had neither knowledge nor willfully participated or connived to commit the offence under the NDPS Act. (Para 21- 26)

Subordinate Legislation - Rules framed under a statute are intended to carry out the purposes of the Act and cannot travel beyond or be inconsistent with the parent legislation. (Para 13)

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