Section 50 NDPS safeguard applies only to personal search, not to bags or containers carried by an accused.

Section 50 of the NDPS Act was construed to apply only to the search of a person, meaning the body or clothing of the accused, and not to a bag, attachi, briefcase or similar container merely carried by the accused. The Court treated the statutory phrase "search any person" according to its plain meaning and distinguished personal search from search of baggage in possession of the accused. Earlier broader observations were not treated as the governing rule. As a result, non-compliance with Section 50 did not, by itself, invalidate recovery from the container, and breach of that safeguard could not sustain acquittal on that ground alone.

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Issues: Whether the safeguards under Section 50 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 apply to the search of a bag, attachi, briefcase or similar container carried by the accused.

Analysis: The statutory expression "search any person" was construed according to its plain meaning in the context of the Act. A bag or similar container was held not to be part of the human body and therefore not a "person" within Section 50. The Court distinguished personal search, where the body or clothing of the accused is searched, from search of baggage merely carried by the accused. The Constitution Bench ruling on Section 50 was understood to confine the provision to search of a person, and earlier observations suggesting a broader reach were treated as not laying down the governing rule. On that basis, non-compliance with Section 50 could not invalidate search and recovery from baggage carried by the accused.

Conclusion: Section 50 was held inapplicable to the search of a bag or attachi carried by the accused, and not every search of a container in a person's possession requires compliance with the safeguards for personal search.

Final Conclusion: The acquittal could not be sustained on the ground of breach of Section 50 alone, and both matters were sent back for fresh consideration on merits.

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