No NDPS Presumption Without Foundational Facts: Supreme Court Acquits Three in 1,364 kg Ephedrine Conspiracy Case

On secret information, the Gujarat ATS raided a godown at Village Vahelal, Ahmedabad, leased by Narendra Kacha, and recovered 55 boxes of ephedrine powder weighing 1,364 kg (paras 5-8). His statement at the raid led the ATS to the other accused (para 9). The charges alleged a meeting at Mombasa, Kenya, to export ephedrine made by a Solapur company, part payment through angadiyas and transport by truck (para 12). On 7.10.2019 the trial court convicted six accused under Sections 25A and 29 of the NDPS Act, with ten years' rigorous imprisonment and a ₹1 lakh fine each, and on 8.9.2023 the Gujarat High Court dismissed the appeals (paras 2-4, 18-20).

The Court found that the High Court's judgment of over 141 pages failed to address the core issues and discussed no evidence of conspiracy or of a Section 9A violation (paras 23-28). Ephedrine is a controlled substance under the 2013 Order, so contravention is punishable under Section 25A, while Section 29 needs proof of abetment or a meeting of minds and an overt act (paras 37-41). Kacha was in possession and control of the godown; the hostile panch witnesses did not make the recovery unbelievable, and as he offered only a bare denial under Section 313, Section 54 could be invoked against him (paras 43-51). For the others, following Noor Aga, the presumptions under Sections 35 and 54 operate only after the prosecution proves foundational facts beyond reasonable doubt, since an accused cannot be asked to prove a negative (paras 54-60). Kacha's statement at the raid was not recorded under Section 67 and had no evidentiary value; in any case a confession can only lend assurance to other legal evidence, as held in Kashmira Singh, Chandrakant Chimanlal Desai and Haricharan Kurmi (paras 61-68). The Court also restated the Nalini principles on proof of conspiracy (para 69).