State of Himachal Pradesh v. Surat Singh

 Non-compliance with s. 50 NDPS Act—offering a third option of search before a police officer vitiates the recovery and sustains acquittal.

Background

During a routine nakabandi on 13 March 2013, the police apprehended the respondent carrying a backpack. On searching the bag, the police allegedly recovered 11 kg 50 g of charas. The accused was charged under s. 20 NDPS Act and convicted by the Trial Court.

On appeal, the High Court set aside the conviction holding that the search procedure violated s. 50 NDPS Act, and acquitted the accused. The State appealed to the Supreme Court.

Issues Framed

  1. Whether the High Court erred in acquitting the accused on the ground of non-compliance with s. 50 NDPS Act.

  2. Whether the Supreme Court should interfere with the High Court’s order of acquittal.

Court’s Reasoning

1. Compliance with s. 50 NDPS Act

Legal rule:
Under s. 50 NDPS Act, an accused must be informed of the legal right to be searched before either a Magistrate or a Gazetted Officer, and strict compliance is mandatory.

Precedents relied upon

  • Suresh v. State of Madhya Pradesh (2013) 1 SCC 550

  • Vijaysinh Chandubha Jadeja v. State of Gujarat (Constitution Bench)

  • State of Rajasthan v. Parmanand (2014) 5 SCC 345

Application to facts

  • The police offered the accused three options:

    1. Search before a Magistrate

    2. Search before a Gazetted Officer

    3. Search before the investigating police officer in the presence of witnesses. 

  • The Court held that the statute permits only two options. Offering a third option of search before a police officer is contrary to s. 50 NDPS Act and amounts to non-compliance. 

  • Where the accused’s bag was searched and his personal search was also conducted, s. 50 becomes applicable as held in Parmanand. 

Thus, the consent obtained from the accused was not legally valid, rendering the search and recovery suspect.

2. Reliability of the Prosecution Case

The Court also noted a material contradiction in the prosecution evidence:

  • A witness (PW-8) testified that no electronic weighing scale was available in his shop, contradicting the prosecution’s claim that the contraband was weighed using such a scale. 

This discrepancy further weakened the prosecution case and justified the High Court’s doubt regarding the recovery. 

3. Scope of Interference with Acquittal

The Court reiterated that appellate interference with an acquittal is limited. Unless the view taken by the High Court is perverse or impossible, it should not be disturbed. 

Here, the High Court’s reasoning was legally sustainable.

Decision / Disposition

The Supreme Court dismissed the State’s appeal and affirmed the High Court’s acquittal of the respondent. 

Ratio

If during search under s. 50 NDPS Act the accused is offered an additional option of being searched before a police officer instead of only before a Magistrate or Gazetted Officer, such deviation from the statutory mandate constitutes non-compliance and vitiates the recovery and conviction. 

Case Details

Citation: 2026 INSC 240
Decided on: 16 March 2026
Case Title: State of Himachal Pradesh v. Surat Singh
Court: Supreme Court of India
Bench: Pankaj Mithal J.; Prasanna B. Varale J.


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