Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (Amendment) Act, 2001 - Amendment of section 37

17. Amendment of section 37.

            In section 37 of the principal Act, in sub-section (1), in clause (b), for the words "a term of imprisonment of five years or more under this Act", the words, figures and letter "offences under section 19 or section 24 or section 27A and also for offences involving commercial quantity" shall be substituted.

18. Amendment of section 39.

            In section 39 of the principal Act, in sub-section (1), after the words and figures "under section 27", the words "or for offences relating to small quantity of any narcotic drug or psychotropic substance" shall be inserted.

19. Substitution of new sections for section 41 to 43.

            For sections 41 to 43 of the principal Act, the following sections shall be substituted, namely –

            41. Power to issue warrant and authorization –

                        (1) A Metropolitan Magistrate or a Magistrate of the first class or any Magistrate of the second class specially empowered by the State Government in this behalf, may issue a warrant for the arrest of any person whom he has reason to believe to have committed any offence punishable under this Act, or for the search, whether by day or by night, of any building, conveyance or place in which he has reason to believe any narcotic drug or psychotropic substance or controlled substance in respect of which an offence punishable under this Act has been committed or any document or other article which may furnish evidence of the commission of such offence or any illegally acquired property or any document or other  article  which may furnish evidence of holding  any  illegally acquired property which is liable for seizure or freezing  or forfeiture under Chapter VA of this Act is kept or concealed.

                        (2)  Any such officer of gazetted rank of the departments of central excise, narcotics, customs, revenue intelligence or any other department of the Central Government including the para-military forces or the armed forces as is empowered in this behalf by  general or special order by the Central Government, or any such officer of the revenue, drugs control, excise, police or any other department of a State  Government as if empowered in this behalf by general or special order of the State  Government if he has reason to believe  from personal  knowledge or information given by any person and  taken in writing that any person has committed an offence punishable under this Act or that any narcotic drug or psychotropic substance or controlled substance  in  respect  of which any offence under this Act has  been committed or any document or other article which may furnish evidence of  the commission of such offence or any illegally acquired  property or any document or other article which may furnish evidence of holding any illegally  acquired property  which is  liable for seizure or freezing or forfeiture under  Chapter VA of this  Act is kept or concealed in any building, conveyance or place, may  authorise  any officer subordinate to him but superior in rank to a peon, sepoy or a constable to arrest such a person or search a building, conveyance or place  whether  by day or by night or himself arrest such a person or search a building, conveyance or place.

                        (3)  The officer to whom a warrant under sub-section (1) is addressed and the officer who authorised the arrest or search or the officer who is so authorised under sub-section (2) shall have all the powers of an officer acting under section 42.

         42. Power of entry, search, seizure and arrest without warrant or authorization –

                        (1)  Any such officer (being an officer superior in rank to a peon, sepoy or constable) of the departments of central excise, narcotics, customs, revenue intelligence or any other department of the Central Government including para-military or armed forces as is empowered in this behalf by general or special order by the Central Government, or any such officer (being an officer superior in rank to a  peon, sepoy or constable) of the revenue, drugs control, excise, police or any other department of a State Government as is  empowered in this behalf by general knowledge or information given by any person and  taken  down  in writing that any narcotic drug, or psychotropic substance,  or controlled  substance in respect of which an offence punishable under this Act has been committed or any document or other article  which may furnish evidence of the commission of such offence or  any  illegally acquired property or any document or other  article which  may furnish evidence of holding any illegally acquired property which is liable for seizure or freezing or forfeiture under Chapter VA of this Act is kept or concealed in any building, conveyance or enclosed place, may between sunrise and subset –

                                 (a)  enter into and search any such building, conveyance or place;

                                 (b)  in case of resistance, break open any door and remove any obstacle to such entry;

                                 (c)  seize such drug or substance and all materials used in the manufacture thereof and any other article and any animal or conveyance which he has reason to believe to be liable to confiscation under this Act and any document or other article which he has reason to believe may furnish evidence of the commission of any offence punishable under this Act or furnish  evidence of holding any illegally acquired property  which is liable for seizure or freezing or forfeiture  under Chapter VA of this Act;  and

                                  (d)  detail and search, and, if he thinks proper, arrest any person whom he has reason to believe to have committed any offence punishable under this Act:

                   Provided that if such officer has reason to believe that a search warrant or authorisation cannot be obtained without affording opportunity for the concealment of evidence or facility for the escape of an offender, he may enter and search such building, conveyance or enclosed place at any time between sunset and sunrise after recording the grounds of his belief.

                        (2) Where an officer takes down any information in writing under sub-section (1) or records grounds for his belief under the proviso thereto, he shall within seventy-two hours send a copy thereof to his immediate official superior.

            43. Power of seizure and arrest in public place.-Any officer of any of the departments mentioned in section 42 may –

                       (a) seize in any public place or in transit, any narcotic drug or psychotropic  substance or controlled substance in respect of which he has reason  to believe an offence punishable under this Act has been committed, and, along  with such drug or substance, any animal or conveyance or article  liable to confiscation under this  Act,  any document  or other article which he has reason to believe may  furnish evidence  of the commission of an offence punishable under this Act or any document or other article which may furnish evidence of holding any illegally acquired property which is  liable  for seizure or freezing or forfeiture under Chapter VA of this Act;

                       (b) detain and search any person whom he has reason to believe to have committed an offence punishable under this Act, and if such person has any narcotic drug or psychotropic substance or controlled substance in his possession and  such possession appears to him to be unlawful, arrest him and any other person in his company.

          Explanation.-For the purposes of this section, the expression "public place"  includes  any public conveyance, hotel, shop, or  other  place intended for use by, or accessible to, the public.

20.  Amendment of section 44.

            In section 44 of the principal Act, after the words "psychotropic substance", the words "or controlled substance" shall be inserted.

 21.  Amendment of section 49.

            In section 49 of the principal Act, after sub-section (4), the following sub-sections shall be inserted, namely –

            (5)  When an officer duly authorised under section 42 has reason to believe that it is not possible to take the person to be searched to the nearest Gazetted Officer or Magistrate without the possibility of the person to be searched parting with possession of any narcotic drug or psychotropic substance, or controlled substance or article or document, he may, instead of taking such person to the nearest Gazetted Officer or  Magistrate,  proceed to search the person as provided under section 100 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (2 of 1974).

            (6)  After a search is conducted under sub-section (5), the officer shall record the reasons for such belief which necessitated such search and within seventy-two hours send a copy thereof to his immediate official superior.

23.  Insertion of new section 50A.

          After section 50 of the principal Act, the following section shall be inserted, namely –

            50A.  Power to undertake controlled delivery. The Director General of Narcotics  Control Bureau constituted under sub-section (3) of section 4 or any other officer authorised by him in this behalf, may, notwithstanding anything contained in this Act, undertake controlled delivery of any consignment to –

                        (a)   any destination in India;

                        (b)   a foreign country, in consultation with the competent authority of such foreign country to which such consignment is destined, in such manner as may be prescribed.  
 
24.  Amendment of section 53.

            In section 53 of the principal Act –

            (a)  in sub-section (1), for the words "or Border Security Force", the words "or  any other department of the Central  Government  including para-military forces or armed forces" shall be substituted;

            (b)  in sub-section (2), after the word "excise", the words  "or  any other department" shall be inserted.