Polity · 4 Aug 2026

NDPS Act Special Courts Section 36

Consider the following pairs relating to the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985: Provision - Function 1. Section 36 - Empowers the government to constitute exclusive Special Courts 2. Section 36A - Mandates that offences punishable with more than three years' imprisonment be tried only by a Special Court 3. Section 37 - Imposes a reverse-onus, near-total bar on bail for serious drug offences 4. Section 36 - Sets a mandatory statutory deadline within which every state must constitute a Special Court How many of the above pairs are correctly matched?

AOnly one pair
BOnly two pairs
COnly three pairs
DAll four pairs
This question is based on: 3.96 Lakh NDPS Cases Pending: Why India's Toughest Drug Law Still Runs Without Its Special Courts
Take this in full test mode → Instructions for 4 Aug 2026
About this question

Why in news

The Ministry of Home Affairs has directed all states to set up exclusive NDPS Special Courts after a review found 3.96 lakh cases pending against just 65 functioning courts nationwide.

Why for UPSC

This format tests whether aspirants can distinguish correctly matched statutory provisions from a plausible-sounding but false claim (a mandatory deadline) that the source article specifically flags as absent - a classic UPSC trap of asserting a stronger legal requirement than actually exists.

Prelims summary

Section 36 (NDPS Act) allows constitution of Special Courts with no mandatory deadline; Section 36A mandates exclusive trial by such courts for offences over three years; Section 37 imposes a stringent reverse-onus bail bar.

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