Smell Of Ganja Alone Not Enough To Prosecute: Kerala High Court
Hearing a case registered under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act (NDPS Act) in 2023, the Kerala High Court recently observed that the smell of Ganja alone was not sufficient to accuse a person of consuming the drug. The court was hearing a criminal proceedings initiated by Malampuza police against a 22-year-old from Palakkad. Citing the lack of sufficient evidence, the Court quashed the case against the youth.
The incident that led police to file the case happened in January last year, when the accused youth was sitting near the Malambuzha dam smoking a cigarette. Upon seeing the police, the man threw the cigarette into the dam, and the police then registered a case against him on the ground that the breath of the accused smelled of ganja.
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The youth then moved to the high court, seeking the dismissal of the case against him. During the hearing, the court noted the potential misuse of the NDPS Act. The counsel appeared for the accused argued that the police could not seize the cigarette or any narcotic substance, adding that it also had not conducted even a forensic examination to determine whether the accused consumed drug.
The bench led by Justice Bechu Kurian Thomas noted that the smell from a person’s breath cannot be determined as evidence to prosecute someone for being a drug consumer.
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An intoxicating smell can be grounds for suspicion, but it is not enough to consider as evidence, the Court said, noting that the case against the petitioner was an abuse of its proceedings.
