Based on a suspected illegal sale of intoxicants, a premises is raided. The premises is connected from a backdoor with a house.

The owner/his relative locks the doors from the inside, and they do not allow the Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) officials to enter the premises from either entry.

Option 1.

Take immediate police assistance and persuade the owner to let in the authorities through the entry of the licensed premises.

Conduct a thorough investigation of the premises in their presence.

A separate criminal offense also arises under Sec 22(3) of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940, which may be invoked when filing the complaint.

Option 2.

The owner/relative doesn’t respond and the premises is not opened.

In such a scenario, the police can invoke their powers under Sec 42(1)(b) of the NDPS Act or their powers u/s 44 or 185 Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (BNSS).

BNSS to break open into the house and enter the licensed premises.

To read more articles by the author, click the below links:

From Prescription to Addiction: Misuse of Drugs in India

Objectionable Advertisements: Salient features of DMROA Act, 1954: Part-II

Objectionable Advertisements: Salient features of DMROA Act, 1954: Part-I

Sarika Malik
SDCO cum Licensing Authority
FDA Haryana