Jammu and Kashmir High Court: A Division Bench comprising of Gita Mittal, CJ and Tashi Rabstan, J., ordered for presentation of report and gave directions to the State Government in regard to drug de-addiction policy.
The Court ordered the respondents to place, before the next date of hearing, the status report and the timeline within which the Narcotics Division and the Forensic Science Laboratories would be set up and also that the steps for effecting the recruitment to the necessary posts should be completed.
It asked for details of the intake capacity of De-addiction and Rehabilitation Centers at nine places in the State in the context of number of persons needing assistance and ordered to take a view on the sufficiency.
The Court found that there was not a single De-addiction and Rehabilitation Centre in Leh and Ladakh region of the State. The respondents were directed to examine this issue urgently and inform the Court of the necessary steps.
A report regarding whether these centers are really functioning as De-addiction and Rehabilitation Centers was sought.
The Court also stated that construction of adequate storage facilities for drugs and psychotropic substances which were seized by the police was not available. It directed the State Government to examine this issue and make available alternative land for construction of the storage facilities of the seized material. [Atharv Mahajan v. State, 2018 SCC OnLine J&K 1016, decided on 26-12-2018]
