Section 67 NDPS statements remain admissible where voluntary, successive, and supported by no prompt retraction.

Statements recorded under Section 67 of the NDPS Act are discussed as admissible where they are made during enquiry, may be recorded successively, and are not excluded merely because they were made to NCB officers or in custody, since such officers are not treated as police officers for Evidence Act purposes. Voluntariness remains central: the absence of coercion, physical pressure, or prompt retraction before a Magistrate supported reliance on the statements. Minor discrepancies were treated as insufficient to undermine the core inculpatory admissions linking the accused with the contraband.

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Issues: Whether statements recorded under Section 67 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 were admissible and could be relied upon to sustain the conviction, and whether those statements were voluntary and truthful.

Analysis: The statement-making power under Section 67 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 was held to operate during the course of an enquiry and was not confined to a single examination. The Court held that successive statements were not prohibited. It further held that officers authorised under the Act are not police officers, so the bar under the Evidence Act did not exclude such statements merely because they were made to NCB officers or while the person was in custody. The Court found no material to show coercion or physical pressure, and noted the absence of prompt retraction before the Magistrate or any proved formal retraction at the earliest stage. The alleged discrepancies in the statements were treated as minor and not affecting the core inculpatory admissions linking both accused with the contraband.

Conclusion: The statements under Section 67 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 were admissible, voluntary, and truthful, and the conviction for offences under Section 29 read with Section 21 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 was upheld against the appellants.

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