Delhi High Court Quashes NDPS Charges, Says Conscious Possession Requires Knowledge and Control

The Delhi High Court ruled that to convict someone under the NDPS Act for drug possession, the prosecution must prove "conscious possession," which entails both knowledge and control over the contraband.

The Court quashed a trial court order framing charges against a man from whose house 100 LSD paper blots were recovered, noting that there was no independent or contemporaneous evidence and had no control or knowledge of the substance.

The Court held that under Section 18 of the NDPS Act, mere recovery of contraband from premises isn’t enough; the prosecution must establish a direct nexus between the accused and the drug. (Saneesh Soman v. Narcotics Control Bureau)