Drug menace | Think of some modules that can translate as an Order: Supreme Court to counsels

The court's amicus curiae in the case, advocate Shoeb Alam, said drug menace has taken a turn for the worse following the pandemic.

The Supreme Court on October 18 highlighted that drug abuse has gripped the society while the government said elite Departments such as the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and Directorate of Revenue Intelligence are examining ways to plug loopholes and augment preventive mechanisms to counter the menace while examining a possible "narco-terror angle".

"Drug menace is gripping the society. We need you to think of some of the module, ideas which can translate as an order which we can pass to govern the entire situation," Chief Justice of India U.U. Lalit, leading a Bench, addressed Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati, appearing for the Centre.

The court's amicus curiae in the case, advocate Shoeb Alam, said drug menace has taken a turn for the worse following the pandemic. The people involved, pushers and users, take to the dark web to deal in drugs. Courier and postal services are used to ferry narcotics.

The distribution networks have become more systematic, organised and widespread. He said ₹30,000 crore worth of narcotics have been seized in the past several months. He referred to the drug haul at the Mundra port recently. He referred to reports by Narcotics Control Bureau, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, the Comptroller and Auditor General and even the AIIMS, which showed that a "sizeable population" was addicted.

"It is a matter of demand and supply," Mr. Alam submitted. The court asked Ms. Bhati and Mr. Alam to sit together and draw up some common parameters and find a reasonable solution to combat the situation. The court scheduled a hearing after five weeks.

In the previous hearing of the suo motu case, the court on Monday had roped in the Centre while acknowledging that the inroads made by drug mafia in society, especially among youngsters, pose a “grave situation’.

The suo motu case was taken up on the basis of letter from a citizen to the Supreme Court highlighting the alarming increase in drug abuse, especially among school children and youths.