The Appellate Tribunal under SAFEMA(Smugglers and Foreign Exchange Manipulators), New Delhi, on October 27, 2025, dismissed the appeal filed by the CBN (Central Bureau of Narcotics), which sought to quash the order of the Special Judge acquitting Respondent No. 2, a police constable, of alleged involvement in an NDPS case. The Tribunal, comprising Shri Balesh Kumar and Shri Rajesh Malhotra, held that since Respondent No. 2 had no pending NDPS cases and was not a prior convict, the acquittal had attained finality and therefore deserved to be upheld.
The case arose when an FIR was lodged against the respondent no. 2 in an NDPS case alongwith with other accused at P.S. Central Narcotics Bureau, at Madhya Pradesh. After the appellant seized 25,576.950 kgs of opium from the godown of M/s Hitanshi Trading Company in Madhya Pradesh, their investigation alleged that respondent no. 2 a serving police constable, had facilitated the transportation and protection of narcotics consignments and had laundered the illegal earnings through bank accounts of his mother and sister (respondents no. 3 and 4).Therefore, on that basis the appellant CBN froze and attached various properties belonging to the respondent no. 2 and his family. Thereafter, the respondent no. 2 challenged this action and approached respondent no. 1 Competent Authority in Mumbai, who on August 29, 2022 set aside the appellant’s attachment holding that the properties in question were acquired through legitimate means, including bank loans and sale of ancestral property. The appellant, aggrieved, filed an appeal before the Appellate Tribunal. On the other hand, the criminal trial before the Special Judge, Neemuch which concluded on March 8 2025 acquitted respondent no. 2, while other co-accused stood convicted under the NDPS Act. Therefore the counsel of respondent no. 2 submitted that since no appeal had been filed against the acquittal, the findings stood final thereby rendering the appellant’s attachment proceedings infructuous.
The Tribunal after reviewing the case status report from the website of Madhya Pradesh High Court, stated that since no appeal was pending against the respondents, the judgement of acquittal dated 08.03.2025 was acknowledged as final. The Tribunal also noted that respondent no. 2 was not a previous convict or had any cases under NDPS Act registered against him and dismissed the appeal accordingly.
Appearances:
For the Appellant : Mr. Satish Aggarwala, Sr. Adv.
For the Respondents : Mr. Vikalp Sharma, Adv. (For R 2 & 4)
