Poppy Husk Is Poppy Straw: Three-Judge Supreme Court Bench Upholds Section 15 NDPS Convictions

Two appellants were convicted separately under Section 15 of the NDPS Act and each sentenced to ten years' rigorous imprisonment and a fine of one lakh rupees, and the Punjab and Haryana High Court dismissed their appeals (para 3). One was found with 10 kg of poppy husk on 4.6.1996, the other with 10 bags of 34 kg each on 23.12.1993 (para 3). In the Supreme Court they argued that Section 15 deals only with poppy straw, not poppy husk, so they could not be convicted (para 4). Notice was issued on that question of law alone (para 5).

The point had not been raised in the lower courts, but as a question of law affecting a large number of cases the Court allowed it to be raised (para 13). Although poppy husk is not defined in the Act, poppy straw is: it covers all parts of the opium poppy except the seeds, and opium poppy means the plant of the species Papaver (para 14). Parts of the plant are poppy straw even if no juice has been extracted, and Section 15 does not require that the straw be used or made into opium (para 14). Whether a preparation contains more than 0.2 per cent of morphine may matter under Section 18, which deals with opium, but not under Section 15 (para 14). The seed is excluded because it is used in food and for oil after it is de-husked; the husk, whether on the seed or removed, remains part of the plant (para 15). A commentary records that crushed poppy capsules called poppy husk or bhuki contain some morphine and are used as intoxicants (para 15). As the husk has not been excluded, dealing in it is an offence under Section 15 (para 15).