In Brief
The Supreme Court examined the catastrophic failure of Indian drug enforcement agencies to properly store and dispose of seized narcotics over decades. Despite a 1989 Standing Order mandating secure vaults with double-locking systems, drugs were piled in ordinary police storage, creating epidemic pilferage and re-circulation into the market. The Court issued binding directions: agencies must establish dedicated storage facilities within six months; seizures must be immediately forwarded to magistrates for supervised sampling and certification; and accumulated drugs must be systematically destroyed by Drugs Disposal Committees. The judgment tackled both procedural gaps (sampling timing under Section 52A) and infrastructure collapse, treating it as a public emergency threatening drug enforcement effectiveness.
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