Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985
53A. Relevancy of statements under certain circumstances
(1) A statement made and signed by a person before any officer
empowered under section 53 for the investigation of offences, during the course
of any inquiry or proceedings by such officer, shall be relevant for the
purpose of proving, in any prosecution for an offence under this Act, the truth
of the facts which it contains,-
(a) when the person who made the statement is
dead or cannot be found, or is incapable of giving evidence, or is kept out of
the way by the adverse party, or whose presence cannot be obtained without an
amount of delay or expense which, under the circumstances of the case, the
court considers unreasonable; or
(b) when the person who made the statement is
examined as a witness in the case before the court and the court is of the
opinion that, having regard to the circumstances of the case, the statement
should be admitted in evidence in the interest of justice.
(2) The provisions of sub-section (1) shall, so far as may be,
apply in relation to any proceedings under this Act or the rules or orders made
thereunder, other than a proceeding before a court, as they apply in relation
to a proceeding before a court.]