Mandatory forwarding of prior information under NDPS search safeguards can vitiate conviction when not complied with.

Strict compliance with Section 42(2) of the NDPS Act was treated as mandatory where prior secret information is recorded before search. The record showed that information about possession and dealing in charas was reduced to writing, but the copy was not forwarded forthwith to the immediate superior officer as required. The distinction between the special report sent after arrest or seizure and the prior-information copy required under Section 42(2) was held material. Because that mandatory step was not followed, the prosecution case was vitiated and the conviction under Section 20 could not be sustained.

---

---

Issues: Whether non-compliance with Section 42(2) of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985, in relation to recording prior information and forwarding its copy to the immediate superior officer, vitiated the conviction under Section 20 of the Act.

Analysis: The record showed that secret information about possession and dealing in charas was received before the search, but the information taken down in writing was not forwarded forthwith to the immediate superior officer as required by Section 42(2). The Court treated the provision as mandatory and held that the distinction between the special report sent after arrest or seizure and the copy of prior information required by Section 42(2) was material. Since the mandatory step was not complied with, the prosecution case stood affected and the trial was vitiated.

Conclusion: Non-compliance with Section 42(2) was established and the conviction could not be sustained; the appellant was entitled to acquittal.

---