Anushka Sharma –
Published On: November 25, 2021 at 13:11 IST
The High Court has ordered Haryana Police to release 70 quintals of poppy seed seized from a factory in Sonepat’s Kundli area in 2017.
Poppy seed has been clearly excluded from the description of ‘Poppy straw,’ according to a High Court Bench led by Justice Jaishree Thakur, because it is utilized in food and Indian sweets or converted into oil, which is generally employed for culinary and lighting reasons after it is de-husked.
The Court was hearing a Petition from a man named Deepak, who was challenging a Trial Court ruling from May 2019 dismissing an appeal for the release of poppy seeds. The 70,950 kg of seed was confiscated in connection with a FIR filed in Sonepat on July 4, 2017, following the alleged discovery of 2,140 kg of poppy husk from a truck that, according to police, came out of a factory.
The Petitioner stated in High Court that the facility where dalhan, rice, food grain, poppy seeds, and oil seeds were produced was a legal company. The recovery of poppy seeds is not covered by the NDPS Act, and the Police are no longer compelled to do so. Poppy seeds are perishable by nature and will spoil over time, according to the argument.
The Court took note of previous rulings that said that, except from the seed, all other elements of the Papaver plant would fall under the restricted ‘Poppy straw’ words.
The Court, in ordering the release, stated that the Trial Court’s order could not be considered ‘Good in the eyes of Law’ in these circumstances and annulled it.
The Court did note, however, that the case was resolved on the basis of the ‘Superdari’ of poppy seeds rather than the merits of the FIR on the recovery of poppy husk.