Error In Tough Anti-Drug Law Fixed After 7 Years, Centre Says "Oversight"
NDTV
The error was found and fixed after the recent seizure of three tonnes of heroin worth Rs 15,000 crore in Gujarat's Mundra Port where the provision has been invoked for illegal drug trafficking.
An error in the tough anti-drugs law - the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act- described as an "oversight" by the government has been fixed after seven years with an ordinance that was signed off by President Ram Nath Kovind on Thursday.
In 2014, a key subsection was not included after an amendment to the law in one of the most stringent provisions - Section 27 A, which "details the punishment for financing illicit trafficking of drugs as 10 years". The provision has been used in several high-profile cases including the arrest of actor Rhea Chakraborty last year in the drugs case linked to death of actor Sushant Rajput.
The error was found and fixed after the recent seizure of three tonnes of heroin worth Rs 15,000 crore in Gujarat's Mundra Port where the provision has been invoked for illegal drug trafficking.
Stressing that the change cannot be applied retrospectively, Rhea Chakraborty's lawyer Satish Manshinde told NDTV: "The Ordinance is to correct the blunder that was committed while it was promulgated earlier. Though this has been done to correct the law and the mistake that had crept in, this is not retrospectively applicable to cases pending before September 30 as it carves out a new punishment for those who may be encompassed by the amendment. Only procedural laws are prospective whereas punitive laws can not under any circumstances be retrospective..."
