Practice area
Trial defence and High Court petitions
Defence before the Special Court, and petitions before the High Court of Karnataka to challenge proceedings or secure protection.
NDPS cases are tried by Special Courts. The trial rewards patient preparation of cross-examination, scrutiny of the prosecution's chain of evidence and early attention to legal defects.
What this work involves
- Reviewing the charge-sheet and framing of charges, and applications for discharge where the material justifies it
- Preparing cross-examination of seizing officers, independent witnesses and experts
- Arguing on the admissibility of statements and on procedural lapses
- Petitions before the High Court of Karnataka, including petitions to quash proceedings in suitable cases
- Appeals against conviction and sentence
- Applications concerning interim custody of vehicles and property
Consumption and treatment
The Act treats consumption differently from trafficking, and contains provisions on treatment and rehabilitation. Where the facts show personal consumption of a small quantity, the right provision and the right defence should be identified early.
Related reading
Section 37 of the NDPS Act: why bail is harder in commercial-quantity cases
How the twin conditions of Section 37 NDPS work, which cases they cover, and what that means for a bail application.
Search and seizureSection 50 of the NDPS Act: the right to be searched before a Gazetted Officer or Magistrate
What Section 50 of the NDPS Act requires before a personal search, and how courts have treated non-compliance.
Statements and noticesStatements under Section 67 of the NDPS Act: are they admissible?
What Section 67 of the NDPS Act allows, and what the Supreme Court held in Tofan Singh about statements recorded by NDPS officers.