NDPS - Transhipment Vs Transport

By Vijay Kumar

WHAT is the difference between Transhipment and Transport?

Under Section 23 of the NDPS Act, the following are offences:

(i) Import into India;

(ii) Export out of India;

(iii) Transhipment;

of any narcotic drug or psychotropic substance.

In a particular case, the High Court set aside the conviction of the accused on the ground that there must be import of the contraband to attract punishment under this section but the prosecution could not prove that the Ganja was of foreign origin.

The State appealed to the Supreme Court and in the Supreme Court, the Counsel for the respondent accused argued that Transhipment under Section 23 must necessarily be understood in the context of the scheme of the Section and the preceding expressions of "import into India" and "export out of India" to mean only transhipment for the purpose of either import into India or export out of India.

In a Judgement delivered yesterday, the Supreme Court agreed and observed that the Parliament used the expression transport in the context of inter-state movement and in the context of importing to India and export out of India, Parliament employed the expression transhipment .

The High Court order was upheld - WORDS do play a major role in winning or losing cases.

We bring you this judgement today. Please see Breaking News.