PIL In Supreme Court Seeks Time-Bound NDPS Trials, Mandatory FSL Deadlines, Special Courts To Combat India's Drug Crisis

The petition filed by Advocate Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay contends that India's existing anti narcotics framework suffers from systemic deficiencies that have weakened enforcement, delayed prosecutions, and failed to adequately distinguish between drug traffickers and addicts requiring treatment.

The petitioner through AoR Ashwani Kumar Dubey has urged the apex court to direct the Centre and State Governments to prescribe a mandatory timeline for submission of Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) reports in all NDPS cases, formulate Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for search, seizure and sampling, particularly in cases involving small and intermediate quantities, and establish Special Courts under Sections 36 and 36A of the NDPS Act to ensure time-bound investigation and speedy trials.

The plea also seeks constitution of an Expert Committee to identify and promptly notify New Psychoactive Substances (NPS), including synthetic opioids such as nitazenes, which the petition claims currently escape regulation due to delays in scheduling under the NDPS Act.

Besides enforcement reforms, the petitioner has sought directions for the establishment and operationalisation of rehabilitation and wellness centres under Sections 39 and 64A of the NDPS Act, mandatory videography and digital recording of search, seizure and inventory proceedings, and formulation of a graded sentencing policy prescribing stringent punishment for traffickers and financiers while treating addicts and personal use offenders differently.

Further, the PIL seeks directions for time-bound identification and confiscation of properties allegedly acquired through drug trafficking under the NDPS Act, Prevention of Corruption Act, Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), Benami Property Act and the Black Money Act. It also prays for a direction to the Law Commission to prepare a comprehensive report on reforms within three months and for a declaration that sentences in NDPS cases should run consecutively.

Plea cities rising Drug crisis

According to the petition, the immediate cause of action arose after reports emerged on May 8, 2026, that a mother in Punjab's Kapurthala district had lost all five of her sons to drug addiction.

The petitioner has cited several other incidents to underline the gravity of the crisis, including allegations that drug addicted parents in Punjab's Mansa sold their infant son to finance narcotics, a fatal overdose in Tarn Taran, an addiction linked homicide in Noida, and the killing of a father by his drug addicted son in Haryana.

The plea claims that around two lakh people die unnatural deaths annually due to narcotic substances while nearly 20,000 others suffer serious physical and mental illnesses attributable to drug abuse.

It also highlights a reported 53 percent increase in drug related cases in 2025, stating that 1,48,063 NDPS cases were registered and nearly 1,240 tonnes of narcotic substances were seized during the year, with cannabis accounting for 51 percent and opiates 29 percent of total seizures.

Highlights AIIMS Dats, Treatment gap

Relying on data from AIIMS' National Drug Dependence Treatment Centre and the National Mental Health Survey, the petition submits that approximately 3.1 crore people use cannabis and 2.3 crore use opioids in India.

The plea states that substance abuse contributes to HIV, Hepatitis B and C, cardiovascular and neurological diseases, overdose deaths, maternal health complications, depression, psychosis, suicidal tendencies and cognitive impairment. It further claims that nearly 90 percent of individuals suffering from substance use disorders do not receive treatment.

The petitioner argues that the drug menace has also resulted in domestic violence, child trafficking, family breakdowns, organised crime, cross border smuggling, money laundering and growing pressure on the criminal justice system.

Contending that the issue concerns public health, public order and the right to life under Article 21 of the Constitution, the petitioner has sought urgent intervention by the Supreme Court to strengthen India's anti narcotics framework through institutional, legislative and procedural reforms.