Supreme Court: drug users are victims, not criminals to be punished

Who it concerns: Petitioner: Sanjana Bhaskaran; Respondents: State of Telangana & Anr.; Bench: Justice J.B. Pardiwala and Justice K. Vinod Chandran.

What the court decided

• Leave to appeal granted.
• The Court held that no useful purpose would be served by prosecuting the appellant as she was a victim at the end of the supply chain.
• The Court found no complicity by the appellant in conscious possession of narcotics.
• The Court declined to subject the appellant to a de-addiction process.
• The appellant's arraignment in the Sessions Case (S.C. NDPS No. 91/2025) was quashed.
• The appeal was allowed.
• Pending applications were rejected.

Also in the document

• The Court noted that the contraband was not recovered from the appellant or her bag, and she voluntarily produced the cover when police saw her putting it in her bag.
• The Court stated that the case against the appellant was based on the confessions of co-accused and the appellant herself, which cannot be relied upon.
• The Court emphasized that curbing availability and breaking the supply chain should be the focus rather than punishing the user.
• The Court clarified that it did not look at the case of the other accused in the same Sessions Case.