The Union government has directed states and Union territories to establish exclusive courts for drug-related offences to speed up trials and reduce mounting case pendency, reported The Indian Express. This comes as nearly 396,000 cases are pending under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act.

Last month, the Supreme Court urged governments to establish more exclusive special courts for NDPS and Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) cases, observing that judges handling multiple categories of cases are unable to dispose of them expeditiously, resulting in prolonged incarceration of undertrials.

Several states have already taken steps in this direction. Haryana set up six fast-track NDPS courts in 2023, while Punjab has sought central assistance to strengthen judicial infrastructure for drug-related cases. The Punjab and Haryana High Court has also repeatedly underlined the need for exclusive NDPS courts, noting that delays cannot be attributed to the judiciary alone but also stem from prosecution and procedural bottlenecks.

State-wise NDPS caseload

According to The Indian Express report, the Union home ministry held meetings with chief secretaries and home secretaries of states and UTs over the last six months. In the last meeting, the ministry was reportedly informed that Punjab alone has around 60,000 pending NDPS cases but no exclusive special court.

The report, citing sources, claims that Kerala had about 50,000 pending cases and only two special courts against a suggested nine courts. Odisha, with about 17,000 pending cases, the report added.

Among other states, Tamil Nadu reportedly has about 15,000 pending NDPS cases and five special courts, with six more proposed. Karnataka, which has a similar caseload, currently has three special courts. Madhya Pradesh also has around 14,000 pending cases and no dedicated NDPS court.

According to the NCB, only 65 special courts are currently functioning across India to exclusively deal with matters relating to the NDPS Act.

The report, citing a source, claimed the number of NDPS cases registered rose sharply after 2014. Between 2004 and 2014, authorities registered about 173,000 cases and arrested 195,000 people. From 2014 to 2026, the number of cases reportedly increased to 875,000, with arrests exceeding 1.09 million.