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Judgment
The petitioner before this Court, who was the Member of Legislative Assembly and is now, at present, the Member of Parliament, has filed the
present writ petition stating that large number of drug mafias are illegally operating in the State of Telangana and the respondent/State does not have a
specialized agency to carry out investigation in such large scale drug operations. It has also been stated that the Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic
Substances Act, 1985, has made an express provision for constituting a central authority for the purpose of exercising powers and functions of Central
Government and as a consequence, Narcotics Control Bureau was established on 17.03.1986, which is the apex body in the country to deal with such
crimes and it also takes all possible steps to curb the drug trafficking in the country. The petitioner has made the following prayers in the relief clause:-
“For the reasons stated in the accompanying affidavit filed in support of the present Writ Petition, it is therefore prayed, that this Hon’ble Court
may be pleased to issue a Writ, Order or Director, more particularly one in the nature of Writ of Mandamus-
(i) Declaring the action of the 1st Respondent in choosing to entrust the entire investigation into the recent drug trafficking case to the Special
Investigation team of the Prohibition and Excise Department, ill-equipped to investigate the said issue, without any consultation or assistance sought
from various specialized Central Government Agencies, specifically mandated to deal with the said issue including the Narcotics Control Bureau,
Directorate of Revenue Intelligence, Central Economic Intelligence Bureau and the Enforcement Directorate and the central Bureau of Investigation
as illegal, arbitrary, against Article 21 of the Constitution of India, and principles of natural justice.
(ii) and consequently, direct the Concerned Respondents to entrust the ongoing investigation into the drug trafficking case to the Narcotics Control
Bureau, Directorate of Revenue Intelligence, Central Economic Intelligence Bureau and the Enforcement Directorate and the central Bureau of
investigation under supervision, close consultation and coordination with the said specialized Agencies to unravel the drug nexus.
(iii) And further direct the Respondents to expedite the investigation forthwith and to pass such other order or orders as this Hon’ble Court may
deem fit and proper in the interest of justice.â€
The State Government has filed a detailed counter affidavit and the counter affidavit reveals that after carrying out investigation, they have filed
charge sheets in all the twelve cases registered in the year 2017 and now the matters are pending for trial before the trial Court.
There is an application filed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) i.e., I.A.No.1 of 2020, stating that the crimes which have been registered in the
year 2017 relate to an international level drug trafficking and it is destroying the youth of the country. It has been further stated that the ED, in order to
find out whether action is required under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (for short, “PML Actâ€), is certainly in
need of all the documents, including the digital record seized by the investigating agency.
The Joint Director, ED, Sri Abhishek Goyal, is virtually present before us and the only prayer made before this Court is for handing over the
documents as well as the digital records in order to arrive at some logical conclusion keeping in view the PML Act. The prayer made by him is
certainly a genuine prayer.
There is an affidavit filed by the Director of Prohibition & Excise, Government of Telangana, and it has been stated that they have filed charge sheets
in all the twelve cases and the statements, seized copies and other evidence have been submitted to the trial court, they are in possession of the trial
Court and certain copies have been furnished to the ED also.
Sri A.Sanjeev Kumar, learned Special Government Kumar, has stated before this Court that he does not have the digital record with him (the State)
and the entire record has been deposited with the trial Court.
In the considered opinion of this Court, the ED is certainly entitled for the certified copies of the FIRs, charge sheets, statements recorded, digital
evidence seized and all other relevant documents in respect of the twelve FIRs registered by the Prohibition and Excise Department, State of
Telangana during the months of July â€" August, 2017.
At this stage, the Joint Director, ED, Sri Abhishek Goyal, has stated before this Court that the entire record has not been certainly deposited with the
Court in all the cases. Only the evidence which is necessary for proceeding ahead with the trial and for framing of the charges has been deposited
with the trial Court and the copies are always kept with the investigating agency.
In view of the aforesaid, the State Government is directed to share and handover the entire record and data to the ED in respect of all the FIRs, and
the record in respect of which copies have not been retained (digital or physical), the ED shall be informed in respect of such record by furnishing all
the minute details in respect of the case in which the record has been deposited with the trial Court, enabling the ED to obtain a copy from the trial
Court. It is needless to mention that in respect of the record which has been deposited and copies have not been retained by the State prosecuting
agency, the trial Court, where the matters are pending, shall provide copies of such record to the ED within a period of fifteen days from the date of
application made by the ED. The State Government shall also ensure that all call records of the year 2017 and other relevant years connected with the
persons involved be also furnished to the ED within a period of thirty days from today.
In the light of the aforesaid, I.A.No.1 of 2020 and the writ petition stands disposed of. However, it is made clear that non-compliance of the order
passed by this Court in respect of handing over the documents, digital or physical, shall be viewed seriously by this Court and the ED shall be free to
approach this Court by filing appropriate application in the matter.
The miscellaneous applications pending, if any, shall stand closed. There shall be no order as to costs.