Punishment for financing illicit traffic and harbouring offenders
Section 27A of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 deals with punishment for financing illicit traffic and harbouring offenders. Whoever indulges in financing, directly or indirectly, any, of the activities specified in sub-clauses (i) to (v) of [ clause (viiib) of section 2] or harbours any person engaged in any of the aforementioned activities, shall be punishable with rigorous imprisonment for a term which shall not be les The Act came into force on 14 Nov 1985.
1[27A. Punishment for financing illicit traffic and harbouring offenders.-- Whoever indulges in financing, directly or indirectly, any, of the activities specified in sub-clauses (i) to (v) of 2[ clause (viiib) of section 2] or harbours any person engaged in any of the aforementioned activities, shall be punishable with rigorous imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than ten years but which may extend to twenty years and shall also be liable to fine which shall not be less than one lakh rupees but which may extend to two lakh rupees:
Provided that the court may, for reasons to be recorded in the judgment, impose a fine exceeding two lakh rupees.]
Section 27A, The Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 (Act 61 of 1985).
Cross-references
Extracted from the operative text of the enactments themselves. Every destination below exists in our corpus.
Related judgements & precedents
These are some judgments that construed this section, and hold precedence value. They hold authority on how to read, interpret and use this section.
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Budhiyarin Bai vs The State of Chhattisgarh
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
While offences under the NDPS Act are serious and warrant stringent punishment, courts must consider mitigating factors under Section 32B of the NDPS Act, including the personal circumstances of the accused such as age, illiteracy, rural background, lack of criminal history, and awareness of legal consequences, before imposing sentences higher than the minimum prescribed. The mere residence of an accused in a house where drugs are found, without clear evidence of active involvement in trafficking, may not justify the same level of punishment as those directly involved in the illegal trade, particularly when co-accused suppliers are acquitted.
On this section: Applied to co-accused Rajendra Tiwari and Idris Khan for delivering illegal cannabis. These accused were acquitted by the trial court.
The holding above is the ratio decidendi as extracted from the judgment by eCourts India, reproduced unaltered — it is a rendering of the court's reasoning, not a substitute for its words. Read the order itself before relying on it.
Judgments citing this section
These may be obiter dicta or a precedent, for you to study. These are the judgments where this section is quoted.
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… JUSTICE SANJIV KHANNA HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE DIPANKAR DATTA For Petitioner(s) Mr. R. Sharath, AOR Mr. Mohit Kumar, Adv. For Respondent(s) UPON hearing the counsel, the Court made the following O R D E R During the course of hearing, wrong statement viz. Section 27A of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 was made by the learned counsel appearing for the petitioner. He apologised for the same. An affidavit in this regard will be filed by the learned counsel for the petitioner within a period of two weeks from today. Re-list in the week commencing …
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… No.270 of 2022 on the files of the Special Court for NDPS Act Cases/ Additional Sessions Court-II, Kalpetta. The offences alleged against the petitioner and other accused are punishable under Sections 20(b)(ii)(C), 29 and 27A of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 (for short 'the NDPS Act'). 2. The gist of the prosecution case is that, on 03.08.2021, the accused stored 102 Kgs of Ganja, meant for sale, in the house of the 1st accused. The petitioner was granted bail by the court vide order dated 12.07.2023 in …
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… Petitioners are the accused in Crime No.405/2023 of Manjeswar Police Station. The above case is registered against the petitioners alleging offences punishable under Sections 8(c), 22(c), 29 and 27A of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 (for short, NDPS Act). 3. The prosecution case is that, the accused were found in possession of 59.850 grams of MDMA. Subsequently, as per the analysis report, it is found that the contraband is Methamphetamine. The petitioner is in custody from …
Questions about Section 27A
What have the courts held on Section 27A of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act?
Budhiyarin Bai vs The State of Chhattisgarh (10 Aug 2022) is the leading judgment on this section among those set out below: Applied to co-accused Rajendra Tiwari and Idris Khan for delivering illegal cannabis. These accused were acquitted by the trial court.
How do I find court cases under Section 27A of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act?
In judgments and charge sheets this section is written several ways, and each form finds a different set of orders. These search the full text of every order eCourtsIndia holds, best matches first: NDPS Act 27A, section 27A NDPS Act, section 27A of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act. People searching for it also type 27a ndps act punishment and 27a ndps act is bailable or not. Each opens the full list of orders on eCourtsIndia, where it can be narrowed by court, year and outcome. 1 reported judgment on this section is set out on this page, beginning with Budhiyarin Bai vs The State of Chhattisgarh (10 Aug 2022).
What should I read with Section 27A of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, and has it changed?
Its own text turns on section 2 (Definitions), so none of them can safely be read on its own. 4 other provisions in this corpus refer back to it.
When did Section 27A of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act come into force?
Section 27A of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, cited as NDPS Act 27A, came into force on 14 Nov 1985, having been enacted on 16 Sep 1985. It is in force as at the date shown on this page.
Other sections of this Act
- 2. Definitions1747 words
- 68B. Definitions819 words
- 9. Power of Central Government to permit, control and regulate816 words
- 36A. Offences triable by Special Courts631 words
- 10. Power of State Government to permit, control and regulate568 words
- 42. Power of entry, search, seizure and arrest without warrant or authorisation507 words
Source and method. Compiled from the enactments of Parliament and of the State legislatures as published on India Code, and republished together with commentary and other original matter under section 52(1)(q)(ii) of the Copyright Act, 1957. Structured, cross-referenced and maintained by eCourtsIndia. Text as in force on 15 Oct 2026. This page is not a substitute for legal advice.