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Section 55: Police to take charge of articles seized and delivered

Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 • Official Statutory Text & Practice Guide

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Competent Court / Tribunal
Act 1985
Section 54 All 83 Sections of Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 Section 56

Legal Commentary & Landmark Judgments: Section 55

Section 55 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 establishes mandatory custodial protocols governing the safekeeping and sealing of contraband articles delivered to a police station pending orders of the Magistrate. It imposes a statutory obligation upon the officer-in-charge of the police station (SHO) to take charge of and safely store all seized articles within his jurisdiction, allowing accompanying or deputed officers to affix their private seals and requiring the SHO to affix his own official seal to the articles and extracted samples. Section 55 serves as the legal cornerstone of the 'chain of custody' doctrine, designed to prevent evidence tampering, substitution, pilferage, or post-seizure adulteration between recovery and judicial testing.

  • Mandatory Police Station Custody (Malkhana Rule): Section 55 mandates that the officer-in-charge of a police station shall take charge of and keep in safe custody, pending orders of the Magistrate, all articles seized under the Act within the local area of that police station and delivered to him. This requires immediate deposit of the seized contraband in the police station Malkhana and corresponding contemporaneous documentation in the Malkhana Register (Register No. 19). Any failure to deposit the contraband in the Malkhana or retention in personal custody of the investigating officer creates a severe fatal doubt.
  • Dual Sealing Protocol: Affixation of SHO and Investigating Officer Seals: Section 55 explicitly directs that the officer-in-charge must allow the seizing officer to affix his seal to the articles and samples, and all samples so taken must also be sealed with the official seal of the officer-in-charge of the police station. This dual sealing mechanism ensures that no package can be opened or substituted without breaking both seals. The specimen impression of both seals must be preserved on a seal memo and dispatched along with the samples to the chemical examiner.
  • Judicial Custody Pending Magisterial Orders: Contraband stored under Section 55 remains in police station safe custody strictly 'pending the orders of the Magistrate.' The SHO possesses no independent authority to destroy, move, or manipulate the contraband. Section 55 custody is an interim holding measure until the Magistrate conducts the Section 52A inventory, sampling, and certification proceeding for chemical examination and authorized disposal.
Key Landmark Precedents:
  • State of Rajasthan v. Gurmail Singh (2005) 3 SCC 59: The Supreme Court acquitted the accused where seized contraband was deposited in the Malkhana but the Malkhana register was not produced in court, the sample seal was not kept in safe custody, and unexplained delay occurred in sending samples to the FSL, holding that failure to prove unbroken chain of custody under Section 55 is fatal to the prosecution.
  • Valsala v. State of Kerala 1993 Supp (3) SCC 665: The Supreme Court held that where seized ganja was kept in the police station for over three months before being sent to the chemical examiner, and there was no evidence to prove that it was kept in safe custody with seals intact under Section 55, the accused was entitled to an acquittal.
  • State of Punjab v. Makhan Chand (2004) 3 SCC 453: The Supreme Court analyzed the custody of seized articles under Section 55, affirming that strict compliance with sealing and preservation protocols is necessary to rule out the possibility of tampering with samples sent for chemical analysis.
Courtroom Practice & Strategic Litigation Guidance:

During trial cross-examination, rigorously examine the Malkhana Moharrir (MHC) and the SHO: (1) Demand production of the original Malkhana Register (Register No. 19) to verify whether the entry was made immediately upon delivery or ante-timed; (2) Compare the description of the seals on the seizure memo, the Malkhana register, the docket/road certificate, and the FSL report; (3) If the SHO did not affix his own seal and only the investigating officer's seal was present, argue a direct violation of Section 55; (4) If there is an unexplained delay of days or weeks between delivery to the Malkhana and dispatch to the FSL without proof of intact seals, press for acquittal under Gurmail Singh and Valsala.

Section 54 All 83 Sections of Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 Section 56