NDPS Act|SC Acquits Driver of Taxi from Which Contraband Was Seized
The Supreme Court recently acquitted a taxi driver wrongly convicted under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act for failing to provide details about passengers who carried illegal drugs in his taxi.

The driver was arrested after police found 20 kg of contraband in his taxi. The passengers fled when the vehicle was stopped, leaving the driver behind. Lower courts convicted him, sentencing him to 10 years in jail and a fine of Rs. 1 lakh.

The driver maintained that the contraband belonged to the fleeing passengers and not him. The Court highlighted several key points: It is unreasonable to expect taxi drivers to record personal details of passengers. No effort was made by investigators to trace the fleeing passengers. The driver didn’t attempt to escape, and the contraband was openly visible in the taxi, which suggested he wasn’t hiding anything.

No incriminating evidence linked the driver directly to the contraband. The bench, comprising Justices Pankaj Mithal and Ahsanuddin Amanullah, ruled that the prosecution failed to prove the driver’s involvement. Consequently, the conviction was overturned, and the driver was acquitted.

Source: – Live Law
By: – Rajat Ranjan
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