Power of seizure and arrest in public place
Section 43 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 deals with power of seizure and arrest in public place. Any officer of any of the departments mentioned in section 42 may (a) seize in any public place or in transit, any narcotic drug or psychotropic substance or controlled substance in respect of which he has reason to believe an offence punishable under this Act has been committed, and, along with suc The Act came into force on 14 Nov 1985.
1[43. Power of seizure and arrest in public place. -- Any officer of any of the departments mentioned in section 42 may
(a) seize in any public place or in transit, any narcotic drug or psychotropic substance or controlled substance in respect of which he has reason to believe an offence punishable under this Act has been committed, and, along with such drug or substance, any animal or conveyance or article liable to confiscation under this Act, any document or other article which he has reason to believe may furnish evidence of the commission of an offence punishable under this Act or any document or other article which may furnish evidence of holding any illegally acquired property which is liable for seizure or freezing or forfeiture under Chapter VA of this Act;
(b) detain and search any person whom he has reason to believe to have committed an offence punishable under this Act, and if such person has any narcotic drug or psychotropic substance or controlled substance in his possession and such possession appears to him to be unlawful, arrest him and any other person in his company.
Explanation.-- For the purposes of this section, the expression "public place" includes any public conveyance, hotel, shop, or other place intended for use by, or accessible to, the public.]
Section 43, 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.
This section refers to
Referred to by 4
- s. 44 Power of entry, search, seizure and arrest in offences relating to coca plant, opium poppy and cannabis plant
- s. 50 Conditions under which search of persons shall be conducted
- s. 52 Disposal of persons arrested and articles seized
- s. 58 Punishment for vexatious entry, search, seizure or arrest
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.
-
Dehal Singh vs State of H. P
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
When contraband is recovered from a private vehicle in which an accused is traveling, both the driver and passengers are presumed to have conscious possession of such contraband. The burden then shifts to the accused to prove that possession was not conscious. Mere statements under Section 313 CrPC without examination as a witness under oath are insufficient to discharge this burden. Weight discrepancies in forensic samples are immaterial when field weighing is done using non-precision scales (such as grocery shop scales) and laboratory weighing is done using precision scales, provided there is no evidence of tampering with or mishandling of the samples. Compliance with procedural requirements under Section 50 of the NDPS Act (regarding search of persons) is satisfied by offering the accused an option to be searched before a Gazetted Officer or Magistrate when the primary object of search is a vehicle, and personal search occurs incidentally after arrest at the police station.
On this section: Referenced regarding scope of search authority
-
Ajmer Singh vs State of Haryana
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
When narcotic drugs are recovered from a bag or container carried by a person (rather than from the body of the person), the procedural safeguards prescribed under Section 50 of the Narcotic Drugs & Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 do not apply, as Section 50 applies only to personal body search. The non-compliance with Section 50 regarding bag search does not vitiate the conviction. Furthermore, absence of independent witnesses does not necessarily vitiate evidence in narcotics cases if reasonable efforts were made to involve independent witnesses and police testimony is found credible upon careful evaluation. The principle of parity in sentencing applies only when co-accused are tried together in the same proceeding and convicted simultaneously; it does not apply when co-accused are tried in separate trials under separate FIRs.
On this section: Empowers officers to seize narcotic drugs in public places and to search persons believed to have committed narcotics offences. Authorizes arrest and detention for narcotics violations.
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.
-
… Applicant has no antecedents whatsoever and he has been falsely indicted in the present case and in that view of the matter, Application seeking discharge was made before the learned Trial Court. 5. Mr. Kotangale would contend that if the power of seizure and arrest in public place under the provisions of Section 43 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 (for short 2 of 5 9.revn.526.24.doc "NDPS Act") is seen, then it would be a mere allegation against the Revision Applicant to have been found at the incident spot where the other two accused were present and were apprehended. Next, he would …
-
… this day, the court passed the following: ORDER This is the first application filed by the applicant under Section 439 of Cr.P.C. for grant of regular bail relating to FIR No.356/2023 dated 19.04.2023 registered at Police Station - Rampur Naikin, District - Sidhi for commission of offence under Sections 8, 21, 22, 27(a), 29, 43 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 and Section 5/13 of M.P. Drugs (Control) Act. Applicant is in detention since 19.04.2023. As prayed by learned counsel for the applicant, this first bail application under Section 439 of Cr.P.C filed on behalf of …
Questions about Section 43
What have the courts held on Section 43 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act?
Dehal Singh vs State of H. P (31 Aug 2010) is the leading judgment on this section among those set out below: Referenced regarding scope of search authority. Another 1 judgment on this section is set out below, all of them from the Supreme Court.
How do I find court cases under Section 43 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 43, section 43 NDPS Act, section 43 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act. People searching for it also type 43 ndps act and 43a ndps act. Each opens the full list of orders on eCourtsIndia, where it can be narrowed by court, year and outcome. 2 reported judgments on this section are set out on this page, beginning with Dehal Singh vs State of H. P (31 Aug 2010).
What should I read with Section 43 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, and has it changed?
Its own text turns on section 42 (Power of entry, search, seizure and arrest without warrant or authorisation), so none of them can safely be read on its own. 4 other provisions in this corpus refer back to it.
When did Section 43 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act come into force?
Section 43 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, cited as NDPS Act 43, 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.