Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 · Chapter V: Procedure
Section 41: Power to issue warrant and authorisation
(l) A Metropolitan Magistrate or a Magistrate of the first class or any Magistrate of the second class specially empowered by the State Government in this behalf, may issue a warrant for the arrest of any person whom he has reason to believe to have committed any offence punishable under this Act, or for the search, whether by day or by night, of any building, conveyance or place in which he has reason to believe any narcotic drug or psychotropic substance or controlled substance in respect of which an offence punishable under this Act has been committed or any document or other article which may furnish evidence of the commission of such offence or any illegally acquired property or any document or other article which may furnish evidence of holding any illegally acquired property which is liable for seizure or freezing or forfeiture under Chapter VA of this Act is kept or concealed:
(2) Any such officer of gazetted rank of the departments of central excise, narcotics, customs, revenue intelligence or any other department of the Central Government including the para-military forces or the armed forces as is empowered in this behalf by general or special order by the Central Government, or any such officer of the revenue, drugs control, excise, police or any other department of a State Government as is empowered in this behalf by general or special order of the State Government if he has reason to believe from personal knowledge or information given by any person and taken in writing that any person has committed an offence punishable under this Act or that any narcotic drug or psychotropic substance or controlled substance in respect of which any offence under this Act has been committed or any document or other article which may furnish evidence of the commission of such offence or any illegally acquired property or any document or other article which may furnish evidence of holding any illegally acquired property which is liable for seizure or freezing or forfeiture under Chapter VA of this Act is kept or concealed in any building, conveyance or place, may authorise any officer subordinate to him but superior in rank to a peon, sepoy or a constable to arrest such a person or search a building, conveyance or place whether by day or by night or himself arrest such a person or search a building, conveyance or place.
(3) The officer to whom a warrant under sub-section (1) is addressed and the officer who authorised the arrest or search or the officer who is so authorised under sub-section (2) shall have all the powers of an officer acting under section 42.]
Source: India Code (indiacode.gov.in), the consolidated text published by the Legislative Department, Government of India. Text as updated on India Code on 14 October 2026. Words in square brackets [ ] were inserted or substituted by later amending Acts, and *** marks words omitted by an amendment. The amendment footnotes are not reproduced here. Official text on India Code.
Supreme Court judgments citing the section 41
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Directorate of Revenue Intelligence v. Raj Kumar Arora & Ors.
Issue arose whether an offence u/s.8(c) of the NDPS Act could be said to have been made out when an accused “deals with” psychotropic substances mentioned in the Schedule to the NDPS Act but not figuring in Schedule I…
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Smt. Najmunisha v. The State of Gujarat
As per the prosecution, secret information was received by PW-2 (Intelligence Officer/Inspector) as to Accused No. 4 (husband of Accused No.1) carrying contraband from a particular route in an auto rickshaw. Said secret…
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- Tofan Singh v. State of Tamil Nadu
- Sekhar Suman Verma v. The Superintendent of N.C.B. & Anr.
- Vijaysinh Chandubha Jadeja v. State of Gujarat
- Sarju@ Ramu v. State of U.P.
- Karnail Singh v. State of Haryana
- Hamidbhai Azambhai Malik v. State of Gujarat
- Directorate of Revenue & Anr. v. Mohammed Nisar Holia
- State. NCT of Delhi v. Malvinder Singh
- Dilip and Anr. v. State of M.P.
- State of Haryana v. Jarnail Singh and Ors.
- M. Prabhulal v. The Assistant Director, Directorate of Revenue Intelligence
- Union of India and Ors. v. L.D. Balam Singh
- Roy V.D. v. State of Kerala
- The State of Punjab v. Baldev Singh
- State of Punjab . v. Balbir Singh and Ors. Etc. Etc.