Over 10% of undertrials in Indian jails were booked under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act. The Supreme Court has said that the bail provision under UAPA is “comparatively less stringent” than that under the NDPS Act. Majority of people booked under this law are not traffickers. 

In this episode of The Suno India Show, we will see how the NDPS Act affects not just the few celebrity names that pop up on news headlines, but thousands of common people who languish in Indian jails. Our reporter Suryatapa Mukherjee speaks to Dr Atul Ambekar, a psychiatrist and a Professor at the National Drug Dependence Treatment Centre, AIIMS, New Delhi. They discuss how the criminalisation of drug use discourages those who need help from seeking it.

Show notes:

As Modi govt plans NDPS Act changes, 27,072 drug case undertrials in India rot in jails | The Print
From Addict to Convict: The Working of the NDPS Act (1985) in Punjab
Calcutta HC Grants Bail To NDPS Accused In Custody For 6.5 Yrs Noting Inordinate Delay In Trial, Violation Of Article 21 | Live Law
Portugal’s Drug Laws: Decriminalisation in action | The Feed SBS