'Heroin Worth Rs 5 Lakh Cr Missing': Delhi HC Seeks MHA's Reply Over Mismatch With NCRB Data

According to the plea, Heroin worth Rs 5 lakh crore (70,772.544 kilograms) disappeared from seizure records between 2018 and 2020.

The plea seeks investigation into the records pertaining to the mode of seizure and disposal of the seized drugs. ( Image Source :PTI )

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday sought reply from the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on the petition highlighting the irregularities between the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data and the numbers provided by MHA regarding the seizure of heroin between 2018 and 2020.

A bench of Justice Subramonium Prasad issued notice to MHA, NCRB and Ministry of Finance on the petition moved by a journalist B.R. Aravindakshan.

 The plea seeks investigation into the records pertaining to the mode of seizure and disposal of the seized drugs. The plea highlights that there are significant gaps in figures. The petitioner states that "Magnitude of Discrepancy" is so huge that it could lead to chaos in the society.

According to the plea, Heroin worth Rs 5 lakh crore (70,772.544 kilograms) disappeared from seizure records between 2018 and 2020. The plea seeks the constitution of a SIT to investigate the missing heroin.

The journalist cited the data provided by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs, by way of replies to unstarred questions in the parliament, which states that only 19,691.155 kg of heroin was seized in 2018. According to the Journalist's petition, there is a discrepancy of 2,571.945 kg of heroin seized.

He has compared the MHA data with NCRB data to reach the conclusion that there are discrepancies. Notably, NCRB is a part of MHA and is an Indian government agency responsible for collecting and analyzing crime data as defined by the Indian Penal Code and Special and Local Laws.

The petitioner also seeks a direction from court to MHA to consider the complaint or representation made by him in September 2022. He further seeks records pertaining to the mode of seizure and disposal of the seized drugs in India between 2018 to 2022 from MHA.

The petitioner also prays for the court to ask the Home Ministry to take necessary steps and complete the investigation in a time bound manner.

The matter will be next heard on September 09.