3.5 Collective notes Shah's take on drug victims
Source: The Sangai Express
Imphal, December 23 2022:
The 3.5 Collective has welcomed the statement of Union Home Minister Amit Shah which acknowledges drug users as victims and not otherwise.
In a statement signed by convenor Babloo Loitongbam and co-convenors Maibam Jogesh and Geetchandra Mangang, the 3.5 Collective said that they have been insisting to recognise drug users as victims and not criminals as per Section 27 of the NDPS Act.
Saying that they currently are fighting a legal battle at the Supreme Court to define the victims of drug trafficking so that drug users can file an appeal against acquittal of drug traffickers, it added that the apex Court has agreed to look into the definition of victims in the context of drug trafficking.
According to them, Amit Shah had on December 21 said that those consuming drugs are victims but those involved in drug trafficking should not be spared.
It also said that they have submitted a detailed interlocutory application praying for a liberal interpretation of the term victim in the criminal law of India to widen its definition as envisaged in the UN Declaration of Basic Principles of Justice for Victims of Crime and Abuse of Power, 1985.The Nasa Mukta Bharat Abhiyaan of the Prime Minister will be meaningful only when the whole society including the drug users is involved, it said and expressed hope that the statement of the Union Home Minister will act as a harbinger of "the much needed catalyst to empower the drug users and their families who are facing the brunt of drug menace" .