The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has pulled up the excise department for not conducting detailed investigations in cases under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act involving seizures of narcotics in “small quantities”.
These practices are leading to an increase in such cases “while suppliers in the chain evade punishment,” said the “combined CAG report for the period ending March 2023”, tabled in the assembly on Tuesday.
In 1,596 cases of offenses involving “small quantity” of contraband, none of the penal provisions under Sections 27 to 31 of the NDPS Act were invoked, the CAG observed. The only sections applied concerned the possession of narcotic substances (Sections 20, 21 and 22 of the NDPS Act).
In the current context, “small amount” means an amount lower than that set by the center for 239 narcotic substances.
“Due to the failure to carry out a detailed investigation, only those accused of ‘small amounts’ of smuggling were punished. The Ministry decided not to investigate the matter further, thereby missing the opportunity to catch the perpetrators involved in the inducement, conspiracy, preparation and distribution of drugs,” the audit report states.
The CAG did not accept the government’s argument that “unnecessary” invocation of sections of the NDPS Act beyond the facts and evidence will be an illegal act which may attract strict action from the courts.
According to the audit report, detailed investigations in ‘small quantity’ cases, “whose numbers are significant, have not been conducted due to non-implementation of the penal provisions of the NDPS Act. As a result, such cases keep increasing while suppliers in the chain evade punishment.”
Published – 24 Feb 2026 20:49 IST
