Telangana ranks low in NDPS convictions despite anti-drug crackdown
HYDERABAD: Telangana’s conviction rate in cases registered under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act remains among the lowest in the country. The state government and police have repeatedly claimed intensified anti-drug enforcement.
Data tabled in the Lok Sabha by Union minister of state for home affairs Nityananda Rai showed that Telangana ranked 28th among 36 states and Union Territories in NDPS conviction rates.
Telangana registered 509 NDPS cases in 2020, 1,346 in 2021 and 1,279 in 2022. The conviction rates stood at 23.8%, 25.6% and 27.4%, respectively.
Kerala registered 4,968, 5,695 and 26,619 NDPS cases during the same period. The state recorded conviction rates of 97.1%, 98.9% and 99.4%.
Karnataka registered 4,054, 5,787 and 6,399 cases. Its conviction rates stood at 90.3%, 93% and 89.9%.
Tamil Nadu registered 5,403, 6,852 and 10,385 cases. The state recorded conviction rates of 78.2%, 82.9% and 81.3%.
Andhra Pradesh performed worse than Telangana. The neighbouring state registered 866, 1,635 and 1,391 cases during the three years. Its conviction rates stood at 12.7%, 25.4% and 6.1%.
Police claim improvement in 2025
Police officials in Telangana said the situation improved slightly in recent years.
In 2025, Telangana registered 2,542 NDPS cases and secured convictions in 81 cases. In 2024, police registered 2,169 cases and secured convictions in 39 cases.
“The number of convictions improved in 2025,” an official of the Elite Action Group for Drug Law Enforcement (EAGLE) said.
Hyderabad records poor prosecution success
Hyderabad reported the weakest performance in NDPS prosecutions in the state.
Since 2019, trials began in 1,450 NDPS cases involving intermediate and commercial quantities of contraband before designated sessions courts in the city.
Courts convicted the accused in only six cases during the period. They acquitted accused persons in 250 cases, while the remaining cases are still pending trial.
A review of acquittal orders showed several reasons for the poor conviction rate. Courts pointed to reliance on confessions of co-accused, hostile witnesses, procedural lapses during seizure and evidence collection, and failure to send samples for forensic examination.
Courts point to procedural lapses
In October 2023, a local court acquitted a Dutch technology professional accused of possessing 2.6 gm of Dimethyltryptamine (DMT) at his apartment in the Financial District area of Gachibowli.
The court said excise officials used a department constable as a mediator during the search and seizure operation instead of an independent witness.
The court also observed that officials produced the seized contraband before the court 45 days after the seizure. It said the prosecution failed to establish a secure chain of custody.
In another case registered at Punjagutta police station in January 2022, police arrested a 27-year-old entrepreneur and Harvard graduate for allegedly procuring and consuming cocaine supplied by a foreign national.
In August 2023, the Telangana High Court quashed proceedings against him. The court observed that police had no evidence apart from his confession statement.
“Except for the confessional statement of the petitioner, there is no evidence to suggest that he purchased or consumed a narcotic substance,” the court said.
Training introduced for NDPS investigations
Senior police officials involved in anti-narcotics operations admitted that conviction rates remained low. However, they said specialised training programmes for field-level personnel handling NDPS cases were introduced in 2024.
