Contextual reading of transhipment under the NDPS Act limits Section 23 to import-export linked movement, defeating conviction.

The term "tranships" in Section 23 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 was construed in context as confined to transhipment linked with import into India or export out of India. Reading the provision alongside the surrounding words and the parallel use of the same expression in Section 9(1)(a)(vii), the Court held that Section 23 applies only where the narcotic drug or psychotropic substance is involved in foreign-origin movement. On that construction, the respondent's conviction under Section 23 could not be sustained and the appeal was dismissed.

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Issues: Whether transhipment in Section 23 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 is confined to transhipment connected with import into India or export out of India, and whether the respondent's conviction under Section 23 could be sustained in the absence of proof of such foreign-origin movement.

Analysis: The expression "tranships" in Section 23 was construed in the setting of the section as a whole, where it is placed between the expressions "import into India" and "export out of India". The Court also noted that Section 9(1)(a)(vii) uses the same expression in the same import-export context, which supported a restricted meaning. On that construction, Section 23 is attracted only when the narcotic drug or psychotropic substance is involved in import into India, export out of India, or transhipment in that linked sense.

Conclusion: The respondent's conviction under Section 23 was not sustainable, and the appeal was dismissed.

Ratio Decidendi: In Section 23 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985, the term "tranships" must be read in context as limited to transhipment connected with import into India or export out of India.

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