In Brief
In this major judgment on narcotic drug trafficking investigations, the Supreme Court examined whether officers designated under Section 53 of the NDPS Act qualify as "police officers" under Section 25 of the Indian Evidence Act, thus rendering confessions made to them inadmissible. By a 2:1 majority, the Court held that such designated officers are indeed "police officers" for purposes of Section 25, so any confessional statement made to them is barred from evidence. The Court also clarified that statements recorded under Section 67 of the NDPS Act cannot be used as substantive confessional evidence to convict an accused. The decision overruled Raj Kumar Karwal and Kanhaiyalal, reaffirming constitutional protections against self-incrimination in the NDPS framework.
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