AHMADALIEVA NADIRA Vs. CUSTOMS

JUDGEMENT

(1.) By this petition Criminal Misc. (Main) Petition No. 2006/2000, the petitioner has sought to invoke the Jurisdiction of this court under Section 439 read with Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure for grant of bail in customs case under section 21/23/28 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 (for short the Act'). He has impugned the order dated 16-5-2000 whereby the learned Additional Sessions Judge, New Delhi, on the application of bail made to her, has rejected the bail on the ground of an embargo of Section 37 of the Act which, according to her, is couched in the negative language and, therefore, declined bail. The case of the prosecution is that the petitioner, who purportedly came into the country to do business in garments, was detained by the Customs authorities on 4-4-2000 and from her effects was recovered 1,68,590 Diazepam (5 mg.) tablets. On the recovery of the same, she was detained for having committed offence under the Act possession whereof was an offence and, therefore, liable to be prosecuted for violation thereof.

(2.) I have heard learned counsel for the petitioner as also learned counsel for the respondent-Customs. It is the case of the petitioner that the items alleged to have recovered from the petitioner were undoubtedly Diazepam tablets but these Diazepam tablets are covered under the Drugs and Cosmetics Rules in Schedule-II and, therefore, are labelled as medicine' under Rule 97 which provides as follows :-

(3.) Unless, therefore, the prosecution can show that what has been recovered conforms to the chemical name mentioned against Item No. 43 in the Schedule to the Act, the same cannot be deemed to be a psychotropic substance covered by the Act.