Section 50 NDPS safeguard breach can sustain acquittal where search rights were not duly informed.

Non-compliance with the mandatory safeguards in Section 50 of the NDPS Act, requiring the accused to be informed of the right to be searched before a gazetted officer or Magistrate, was treated as fatal to the prosecution on the facts considered. The Court noted that breach of the statutory safeguard does not automatically render all evidence inadmissible, but its impact depends on the evidence in each case. On the material before it, the trial court's view was not unjustified, and confirmation of the acquittal was warranted because the prosecution had failed to establish compliance with Section 50.

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Issues: Whether non-compliance with the mandatory requirements of Section 50 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 vitiated the prosecution case and warranted interference with the order of acquittal.

Analysis: The search and seizure were examined in the context of the statutory safeguard under Section 50, which confers a valuable right on the accused to be informed of the entitlement to search before a gazetted officer or Magistrate. The evidence showed that this mandatory safeguard was not complied with. The Court also noted that evidence collected in breach of the statutory provision does not automatically become inadmissible, and that the matter depended on appreciation of evidence in the facts of each case. The view taken by the trial court on the evidence could not be characterised as unwarranted or unjustified.

Conclusion: Non-compliance with Section 50 was sufficient to justify confirmation of the acquittal, and interference with that view was not warranted.

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