SC was examining progress made by police to dispose of seized vehicles

They [the police] blame thieving rats for missing drugs from malkhanas, said Justice Deepak Gupta on Thursday.

“More drugs are smuggled out of police malkhanas. A 100kg heroin may be kept in malkhanas but nothing is left of it after a while. Who is to blame? Choohe chura le gaye [the rats stole it], they say,” remarked Justice Gupta. He is a part of a three-judge Bench led by Justice Madan B. Lokur.

The Bench, also comprising of Justice S. Abdul Nazeer, said this is the situation despite the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotic Substances Act specifically mandating the preparation of inventory and disposal of the seized drugs and substances under Section 52A.

The court was examining the progress made by the Delhi Police to dispose of seized vehicles lying abandoned in police stations.

The Bench suggested that these vehicles should be sold off after two or three months. The money should either go to the claimant and in case there is none, to the State coffers.

In a hearing on July 30, the Bench had asked the Delhi Police to specify the timeline for framing a policy for clear the impounded vehicles and junk lying abandoned in police stations. The court has given them four weeks to frame the policy.