KOCHI: In a major decision, a division bench of the Kerala High Court has directed the state government to set up Campus Police units in educational institutions to tackle drug abuse among students.

A bench headed by Chief Justice S. Manikumar gave the order on a case it took up suo moto, based on a letter from retired police official N. Ramachandran highlighting the use of drugs on campuses.

The High court also suggested that action should be taken to ease the implementation of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act (NDPS Act) in educational institutions and directed the Chief Secretary to take necessary action, besides seeking a joint meeting of top officials of Health, Education, Police, and Excise Departments to formulate the necessary rules.

The strict directions came on a police report which said around 400 institutions in the state are affected by drug abuse, with a whopping 74.12 percent of them being schools, 20.89 percent being colleges and professional institutions, and the rest other institutions. The police report also pointed out that use of drugs from ganja and hashish to synthetic drugs was taking place among the students.

Emphasizing the need for campuses in the state to be free of drugs, the court listed the case's next hearing after three months, when it would look into all the action that has been taken towards this objective.

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