Delhi court orders framing of charges in codeine case

A Delhi court has ordered the framing of charges against a man for the alleged illegal possession of over 4,300 kg of codeine-based cough syrup, saying the evidence raises grave suspicion against him. Special Judge Jitendra Pratap Singh said a prima facie case is made out against the accused, Vipin Chawla, under the NDPS Act.

According to the prosecution, the special cell of Delhi Police conducted a raid on June 16, 2023, at a shop in Azadpur where 302 boxes containing a total of 36,238 bottles (100 ml each) of cough syrup were recovered.

It said the total weight of the seized psychotropic substance was approximately 4,312 kg, which far exceeded the “commercial quantity” limit of one kg for codeine prescribed by the Government.

In its order dated July 30, the court trashed the accused’s defence that he was merely a manager at a firm called ‘M/s Surya Pharma’ and that the stock was being returned to the supplier following a Government ban on certain codeine combinations, and that the firm had valid licences.