New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday highlighted the issue of drug menace in the country and asked a law officer and a court-appointed amicus curiae to come out with "reasonable solutions" which can be taken as the basis to modulate the directions to curb it.
Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati informed a bench of Chief Justice U U Lalit and Justice Bela M Trivedi the departments concerned like the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) are working towards augmenting the mechanism to tackle the issue.
The court had earlier asked the ASG to assist it in the suo motu case titled "The Menace of Drug Mafia Network Operating in The Country".
A letter dated November 9, 2021 was sent to the apex court highlighting the smuggling of huge quantum of drugs from Afghanistan into India and requesting the court to direct constitution of a Special Investigation Team to probe the international and national narcotic drug mafia in the country.
Then CJI N V Ramana had in November last year directed that the letter be converted into a suo motu case.
During the hearing on Tuesday, the apex court told Bhati she and advocate Shoeb Alam, who has been appointed as an amicus curiae in the matter, can sit together and give some ideas to the court on the issue.
"We want some kind of module or some idea…. Mr Alam and you, both of you can sit together and give us some ideas which we can translate in the form of directions and order and then it becomes applicable and govern the entire situation," the bench told Bhati at the outset.
"We must carry the matter further," the bench observed, adding that drug menace has gripped the society.
Bhati told the bench she had detailed discussion with different officials and the matter is being investigated by the DRI as well as the National Investigation Agency (NIA) from the "narco-terror angle".
The ASG said she has also taken some instructions on what is the mechanism available to "plug the loopholes" that are existing.
Bhati said she would prepare an affidavit and file it before the court.
Alam told the bench he has filed a compilation, which also comprises reports of the Narcotics Control Bureau, the Comptroller and Auditor General and the All India Institute of Medical Sciences.
He said he has gone through media reports on major drug seizures in India worth over Rs 1 crore.
"About Rs 30,000 crore worth of drugs and narcotic substances have been recovered and seized in the last 13 months, from September last year till today," Alam said, adding, "This is a tip of the iceberg. The issue is massive." He said after the Covid pandemic, there is a change in the manner in which drugs actually come into India.
Referring to the dark web, the amicus said now drugs are being ordered through it, payments are being made in crypto currencies like bitcoins and deliveries are being made through couriers.
Dark Web is part of the World Wide Web but it cannot be found with conventional search engines. Accessing it requires special technology.
"It has become more systematic," the bench orally observed.
Alam said steps have to be taken on multiple fronts to deal with the menace.
The bench noted in its order that the amicus has filed certain documents which indicate the "enormity of the problem".
It noted Bhati's submissions that she is in the process of receiving instructions from various departments, including the DRI and the NIA.
The ASG also submitted that a comprehensive response, not only touching upon the incident which gave rise to the cognisance being taken by the court, but also to take care of any such situations as may emerge in the future, will be filed.
"She submits that the departments are working in the direction of augmenting a mechanism which to a great extent would take care of all similar situations in future," the bench noted.
The bench granted three weeks to the ASG to put in an appropriate response.
It asked the amicus and the ASG to have a joint sitting and "come out with common parameters or reasonable solutions which can be taken as the basis to modulate the directions on the next occasion".
The top court has posted the matter for hearing after five weeks.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)