Madras high court orders tamil nadu to form committee for drug control

Chennai: The Madras High Court directed the Tamil Nadu govt to constitute a monitoring committee to oversee and monitor the performance of the enforcement wing of the state police. The committee is tasked with making suggestions to the govt for taking necessary measures to curtail the sale of narcotic substances and other drugs.The committee will be headed by a Chairperson, not below the rank of Secretary to the govt, and will comprise one officer from the Narcotic Control Bureau (NCB), one from the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), and two or three officers from the state.A division bench of Justice D Krishnakumar and Justice P B Balaji passed the direction while reiterating that there is insufficient deployment of police personnel to curb the drug menace in the state.Perusing an affidavit filed by the DGP, the court said, "It is projected in the affidavit that apart from PEW, the services of law-and-order police are going to be used for the eradication of narcotic substances. Already, the police personnel deputed at the law-and-order wing are overburdened, and entrusting additional work to them will affect their performance and increase their stress level."Therefore, a special wing consisting of a sufficient number of personnel must be formed. We feel that, as of now, the deployment of manpower in the exercise of complete eradication of drugs is insufficient, and we are still far away from a ‘drug-free Tamil Nadu'," the court said.It is also reported in the news and on social media that several drugs were seized from the student community residing in hostels. Therefore, the state should also maintain a strict vigil over the easy availability of narcotic substances, the bench said.It is also brought to the notice of this court that narcotic substances are delivered through courier services. It is also not disputed as to the availability of narcotic substances and other drugs in the state. It may be a tough task for the authorities to curb the menace. Therefore, a sufficient strength of police personnel should be deputed at the state, district, and taluk levels to curb the illegal sale of narcotic substances, the judges added.
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