NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Thursday declined to set aside an order directing the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) to pay costs in a failed appeal but reduced the amount from ₹1 lakh to ₹50,000.A bench of Justices M.M. Sundresh and K. Vinod Chandran heard the Centre’s challenge to the Calcutta High Court’s June 16, 2024 order, which had imposed ₹1 lakh in costs on the NCB for its delay in appealing an acquittal. The High Court had directed the bureau to pay the sum to the West Bengal State Legal Services Authority within a week and recover it from the officers responsible for drafting and filing the appeal.The Supreme Court, however, ordered that the ₹50,000 be deposited by the government rather than deducted from individual officers. “There must be fault either on the part of your lawyer or your officer,” the bench remarked, adding that they were “not inclined to interfere with the impugned judgment” but clarifying that compliance would fall on the petitioner (the government), not the officers.The Centre’s counsel had argued that delays in filing appeals were “disturbing” and sought guidance on the issue. The bench responded: “Please understand your position as a lawyer. If delays occur, you should know how to proceed without seeking Supreme Court directions to validate your orders.”The NCB’s appeal arose from the acquittal of accused persons by a special NDPS court in Barasat. The High Court noted that the bureau should have applied for leave to appeal under Section 378(3) of the Criminal Procedure Code before filing, as required by the 2023 Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita. Despite reminders in May and June that proper leave had not been obtained, the NCB persisted in filing, then sought to withdraw its appeal on June 16. Finding that withdrawal alone would not serve the interests of justice, the High Court imposed the ₹1 lakh cost, which the Supreme Court has now halved.
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