The Supreme Court directed the transfer of the Mundra Port drug haul case to the National Investigation Agency (NIA) Court in Gujarat.
NEW DELHI: On Wednesday (3rd April) The Supreme Court granted permission to the National Investigation Agency (NIA) to transfer a heroin smuggling case linked to the Mundra port drug haul from a court in Hoshiarpur to a special NIA court in Ahmedabad, Gujarat.
READ ALSO: Abhishek Banerjee Moves to Supreme Court
The NIA argued that consolidating the cases in one court would facilitate a more effective trial. The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) had seized 2,988 kg of heroin, imported from Afghanistan as talc powder, at Mundra port in September 2021. The Supreme Court’s decision comes after the Ministry of Home Affairs transferred the probe into the drugs haul to the NIA in December 2021.
The Supreme Court granted the National Investigation Agency (NIA) permission to transfer a heroin smuggling case associated with the Mundra port drug haul from a court in Hoshiarpur to a special NIA court in Ahmedabad, Gujarat.
The heroin smuggling case is linked to a drug seizure at Mundra Port in September 2021. The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) discovered 2,988 kg of heroin concealed within a consignment of talc powder imported from Afghanistan. Following this discovery, the NIA, as the central probe agency, took over the investigation of the interlinked cases related to the drug haul.
READ ALSO: Supreme Court Rejects Continued Court Monitoring in Dabholkar Case
Additional Solicitor General S V Raju, representing the NIA, highlighted before the bench, comprising justices C T Ravikumar and Rajesh Bindal, that conducting separate trials in Gujarat and Punjab would not serve any purpose. The NIA emphasized the need for consolidated proceedings, given the interconnectivity and shared cause of action among the cases.
Raju argued that conducting separate trials would prejudice the NIA and hinder the effective resolution of the cases.
The Supreme Court rejected the pleas of the accused opposing the transfer of one of the cases to Gujarat. The court acknowledged the NIA’s authority over the investigation and agreed that conducting parallel trials in different locations would not be beneficial.
READ ALSO: Supreme Court Overturns Judgment Issued Post-Retirement by High Court Judge
Earlier, the NIA requested the transfer of the case to Ahmedabad, but a Punjab court declined jurisdiction, stating it lacked the authority to transfer the case. In the case registered by the Punjab Police, nine individuals were named as accused, and a trial was set to commence in a special court in Hoshiarpur under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act. The NIA included all the arrested accused in Punjab and Delhi in its charge sheet, which has been filed in the Ahmedabad court.
