Section 51 NDPS Act Prevails Over CrPC: Rajasthan High Court Sets Aside Release of Vehicle Seized by NCB

The Narcotics Control Bureau seized a vehicle in an NDPS case. On 05.08.2021 the Special Judge, NDPS Cases, Chittorgarh released it to the owner under the CrPC, although the NCB opposed this under Section 52A (paras 7, 10). The NCB challenged the order, arguing that Section 51 applies the CrPC only so far as it is consistent with the NDPS Act, that Section 52A as amended empowers it to dispose of seized conveyances, and that its inventory verification was complete (paras 2-5). The owner argued that the vehicle's fate depended on the merits and on Sections 60 to 63 (para 1).

The Court held that wherever the CrPC and the NDPS Act are inconsistent, Section 51 operates and the CrPC must take a back seat; the release, opposed by the NCB under Section 52A, could not have been allowed (para 7). The NCB's power under Section 52A had been brought into operation by the amendment and the Gazette Notification of 16.01.2015 (para 8). The owner's chance under Sections 60 to 63 to redeem the vehicle arises only after the trial; Section 52A is interim and does not prejudice the parties' rights, which the owner may raise when those provisions come into operation (para 9). The Court applied its own decision in Shoyab Khan of 13.07.2022, which held that Section 52A concerns disposal rather than confiscation, to protect seized property against hazards, theft, substitution or lack of storage space, with the proceeds held by the NCB as custodian until the final decision (paras 6, 9).