Declare non-involvement in drug trafficking: SC judge to lawmakers

To check the menace of drug trafficking, a Supreme Court judge on Saturday asked elected representatives to file an affidavit stating that they are not involved in the racket.

The elected representatives should file an affidavit stating that they are not involved in drug cultivation or trafficking in any manner, Justice T.S. Thakur of the Supreme Court said in his valedictory address at a seminar on the drug menace here.

Urging the politicians to join the fight against contraband drugs, he also asked the panchayat members to report the illegal cultivation of cannabis to the police.

The three-day seminar, "Drug menace in India: Overview, challenges and solutions", was organised by the Himachal Pradesh State Legal Services Authority.

Exhorting police to go after the kingpins of the illegal trade, Justice Thakur stressed the need to send investigators for training to judicial academies to plug the loopholes in the investigation.

Himachal Pradesh High Court Chief Justice Mansoor Ahmad Mir said drug abuse in India has assumed alarming proportions.

He said drug addicts have to be treated and rehabilitated.

State Health Minister Kaul Singh said the state government had taken various steps to curb the menace.

"Raids are being conducted routinely to destroy the illicit cultivation of cannabis. Unfortunately this is not an easy task because the plant grows wildly in the hills and it is difficult to know whether it is wild or cultivated," he said.