Why is govt so reluctant to file timely narcotics reports, asks Calcutta HC

West Bengal Home Secretary B.P. Gopalika on Tuesday faced the wrath of the Calcutta High Court over "an abnormal delay" in presentation of examination report of seized narcotics to the court though an accused arrested in the matter had already spent around 600 days behind bars.

Present before a bench of Justice Joymalya Bagchi, following summons from the bench, the official was asked by the judge: "Why is the state government so reluctant to timely present examination reports in narcotics related cases? Do the state government prolong the cases by not conducting timely examinations of the narcotics seized?"

"Is such an examination a unique affair? It is not possible that the state government does not have any specific guidelines on this count. There are international borders with West Bengal. Narcotics smuggling is often reported from these borders. Even after that why is the state government so lackadaisical on this count. How can it justify that the state government does not have facilities for examination of seized narcotics? It is not acceptable that the case is prolonged because of the lack of examinations," Justice Bagchi said.

The bench also directed the state government to submit a detailed report on this count to the court within the next four weeks.