Confiscation of Vehicle -- Power Under NDPS Act -- Vests exclusively in court trying the offence, not the Drug Disposal Committee
(i) Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985, S.63 -- Confiscation of Vehicle -- Power Under NDPS Act -- The power to confiscate a conveyance seized in an NDPS case vests exclusively in the court trying the offence. The court must decide confiscation under Section 60, 61 or 62, irrespective of whether the accused is convicted, acquitted or discharged. Confiscation proceedings and the criminal trial operate on separate tracks with different standards of proof, so acquittal does not automatically result in release of the vehicle. (ii) Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985, S.52A -- Confiscation of Vehicle -- Disposal by Drug Disposal Committee -- A Drug Disposal Committee constituted under Section 52A cannot independently dispose of a seized conveyance by sale or auction during pendency of trial without orders of the court. Rule 16 of the NDPS (Seizure, Storage, Sampling and Disposal) Rules, 2022 can be applied only with permission of the court, and the owner must be heard before any disposal, with sale proceeds deposited before the jurisdictional court.
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