Reprieve?: Ephedrine not a narcotic, CNS lacks jurisdiction: Lahore High Court
The petition argues that ephedrine does not fall in category of narcotics under Pakistani law.
RAWALPINDI:
The Lahore High Court Rawalpindi bench on Thursday accepted the arguments of a petitioner that ephedrine does not fall in the category of narcotic substances. In a short order, the court ruled that the ephedrine quota case should be transferred from the Court of Narcotic Substances (CNS) to a competent court as the CNS lacks jurisdiction.
A petition filed by advocate Abdur Rasheed Sheikh, on behalf of Iftikhar Babar, an accused in the ephedrine case, argued that ephedrine does not fall in category of narcotics under Pakistani law.
Sheikh, in his argument before a bench comprising Justice Ali Baqir Najfi and Justice Chaudhry Mushtaq, said that ephedrine is not mentioned in any definition of narcotics given in the Narcotics Control Act.
He added that although it is mentioned in table-1 of the UN Convention Against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances 1988, the same cannot be applied unless notified by the federal government. The bench asked the ANF lawyer whether any notification has been issued by the federal government regarding ephedrine being termed a narcotic, to which the lawyer replied in the negative.
Sheikh also argued before the court that the ANF court has no jurisdiction to hear the case as ephedrine is not categorised as a narcotic. He informed the court that in a case registered by ANF Peshawar against a chemical manufacturer regarding hydrochloric acid, the court acquitted the suspects and also ordered action against two investigators for malicious prosecution. He explained that hydrochloric acid and ephedrine are mentioned in the same category in the Narcotics Control Act 1997.
He said drug courts cannot hear the ephedrine case so the ANF should take the case to a competent court.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 28th, 2014.
The Lahore High Court Rawalpindi bench on Thursday accepted the arguments of a petitioner that ephedrine does not fall in the category of narcotic substances. In a short order, the court ruled that the ephedrine quota case should be transferred from the Court of Narcotic Substances (CNS) to a competent court as the CNS lacks jurisdiction.
A petition filed by advocate Abdur Rasheed Sheikh, on behalf of Iftikhar Babar, an accused in the ephedrine case, argued that ephedrine does not fall in category of narcotics under Pakistani law.
Sheikh, in his argument before a bench comprising Justice Ali Baqir Najfi and Justice Chaudhry Mushtaq, said that ephedrine is not mentioned in any definition of narcotics given in the Narcotics Control Act.
He added that although it is mentioned in table-1 of the UN Convention Against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances 1988, the same cannot be applied unless notified by the federal government. The bench asked the ANF lawyer whether any notification has been issued by the federal government regarding ephedrine being termed a narcotic, to which the lawyer replied in the negative.
Sheikh also argued before the court that the ANF court has no jurisdiction to hear the case as ephedrine is not categorised as a narcotic. He informed the court that in a case registered by ANF Peshawar against a chemical manufacturer regarding hydrochloric acid, the court acquitted the suspects and also ordered action against two investigators for malicious prosecution. He explained that hydrochloric acid and ephedrine are mentioned in the same category in the Narcotics Control Act 1997.
He said drug courts cannot hear the ephedrine case so the ANF should take the case to a competent court.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 28th, 2014.