CRM-M- IN 298 Thakur Sin v. State of Pun CORAM: Present: AARADHN 1. 22.09.2024 Drugs and 29 of NDP Moga, has bail. 2. noticed her information raid was c Informant h -22845-2025 -1 IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJA CHANDIGA ur Singh of Punjab AM: HON’BLE MS. JUSTICE AA Mr. Rajat Verma, Advocate fo Mr. Gautam Thapar, Senior DA **** ADHNA SAWHNEY, J. (Oral) Petitioner, who is an accuse .2024, registered against him under s and Psychotropic Substance Act (in f NDPS Act added later on, at Polic a, has filed the present petition under S Relevant facts as emerging fr ed hereinbelow:- As per the case set up by pr ation received by police team heade as conducted at the house of Th ant had disclosed that Thakur Singh 1- PUNJAB AND HARYANA AT DIGARH CRM-M-22845-2025 Date of Decision: 12.02.2026 …Petitioner. …Respondent. CE AARADHNA SAWHNEY. cate for the petitioner. nior DAG, Punjab. accused in case FIR No. 123 date under Sections 21, 22, 27 of Narcot ct (in short “NDPS Act”) and Sectio t Police Station Kot Ise Khan, Distri er Section 483 of BNSS for grant o ging from the documents on record b y prosecution, on the basis of secr eaded by ASI Raghvinder Prashad, Thakur Singh (present petitioner ingh, his wife Veer Kaur and their so .2026 3 dated arcotic Section District grant of cord be secret had, a ioner). ir son GURBACHAN SINGH 2026.02.27 20:20 I attest to the accuracy and integrity of this document CRM-M- Lakhwinde Singh is h Relying on (present pe from the h coloured ta were recov disclosure nominated contraband Singh (pres Judge, Spec application bail. 3. been falsely fact that ev Lakhwinde the local po partisan co up by pros secret info independen formalities -22845-2025 -2 inder Singh @ Lakhu are habitua is himself a drug addict and has g on the information, the residen nt petitioner) were raided. It is fur he house of Thakur Singh, 10 gra ed tablets (later found containing sa ecovered. The same were taken i ure statement of Thakur Singh, on ated as co-accused who as per band. It is further the case of prose (present petitioner), was arrested from Petitioner moved an applicat e, Special Court, Moga, vide order da cation. Aggrieved of which, present p Learned counsel for the petit falsely implicated in the present case that even prior to the registration of th winder Singh @ Lakhu, had moved cal police officials before the Chief M san conduct. Learned counsel next co y prosecution is apparent from the fa t information, the police team did n endent person as a witness to the case alities were not complied with. 2- itual of selling intoxicants. Thaku has spoiled lives of several person sidential premises of Thakur Sing s further the case of prosecution th grams ‘Heroin’ and 50 loose whi g salt Etizolam weighing 6.95 gram en into possession. On the basis , one Rajwinder Kaur @ Rajji wa er Thakur Singh had supplied th prosecution that on 22.9.2024, Thaku from his house. pplication for grant of bail. Learne der dated 3.12.2024, dismissed the sa esent petition has been filed for grant o e petitioner submits that petitioner ha t case. The same is apparent from th n of the present case, son of petitione oved a detailed representation again hief Minister, Punjab, highlighting the next contends that falsity of the case s the fact that despite having received did not make any effort to join an he case proceedings. Even the statutor ith. No plausible explanation hakur rsons. Singh n that white rams) sis of was d the Thakur Learned the said grant of ner has rom the titioner, against ing their case set eived a oin any tatutory tion is GURBACHAN SINGH 2026.02.27 20:20 I attest to the accuracy and integrity of this document CRM-M- forthcomin learned co present ca investigatio the likeliho as substant Thus, when further inca not only India, inclu of “Bail is allowing th 4. submission the house tablets (con within the of Section the twin co counsel fu antecedents cases, out given in pa Dismissal o 5. documents -22845-2025 -3 coming for these procedural lapses. ed counsel that petitioner, who has case, deserves a lenient view t tigations in the present case are comp ikelihood of the trial being completed bstantial number of prosecution wi when viewed in light of submission er incarceration would not serve any u be violative of his rights under including right to speedy trial but w is a general rule and incarcerat the petition has been made. Per contra, learned State issions raised by learned counsel for ouse of petitioner, 10 grams of ‘Hero (containing sale Etizolam) weighin the ambit of ‘commercial quantity’ ction 37 of NDPS Act are attracted w win conditions prescribed in the prov sel further contends that petitioner edents are far from satisfactory; he , out of which five are of like natur in para 10 of status report, no cas issal of the petition has been prayed fo Heard learned counsel for ments on record. 3- apses. It is further the submission o o has been falsely implicated in th view to be taken in his favour, complete as challan has been filed, b pleted in the near future is quite remo on witnesses remain to be examine issions advanced hereinabove, his (P e any useful purpose as the same wou nder Article 21 of the Constitution would also be against the princip eration is an exception”. Prayer State counsel while opposing for the petitioner, submits that fro ‘Heroin’ and 50 loose white coloure eighing 6.95 grams in all, which ntity’, were recovered. Thus, the rigo cted which bar the grant of bail, unle e provision are satisfied. Learned Sta ioner is a habitual offender, his pa y; he having remained involved in s e nature, the details thereof have bee no case for grant of bail is made ou ayed for. for the parties and perused ssion of in the our, for iled, but remote amined. his (P) would ution of rinciple for the from oloured fall e rigors l, unless ed State his past d in six ve been ade out. the GURBACHAN SINGH 2026.02.27 20:20 I attest to the accuracy and integrity of this document CRM-M- 6. present pet the present Status repo Superintend for as many against pet material fa itself, he is 7. landmark ju versus Nam Leave to A held as und -22845-2025 -4 At the outset, it needs to be nt petition, a specific averment was m resent FIR, no other criminal proce s report filed by way of affidavit of rintendent of Police, Dharamkot, Distr s many as 5 cases under NDPS Act an st petitioner. It is, thus, evident th rial facts, for which no explanation , he is not entitled to the discretionary At this stage, it would also b ark judgments, relevant to the facts sc The Hon’ble Supreme Court Namdeo Ashruba Nakade, Specia to Appeal (Crl.) Special Leave to as under:- “8. This Court is of the view has emerged as a global publi century, affecting every count and addiction have become Office on Drugs and Crime World Drug Report that “As a worldwide had used drugs in increase over the past decade which indicates a higher preva 9. In India, there has bee abuse among the youth. Su 4- to be mentioned that in para 13 of th as made by petitioner that apart fro proceedings are pending against h vit of Ramandeep Singh, PPS, Depu t, District Moga, has falsified this stan and one case under IPC are pendin ent that petitioner has concealed th ation is forthcoming. On this groun onary relief sought for. also be appropriate to refer to certa facts scenario of the case in hand. Court in the case of Union of Ind ecial Leave to Appeal (Crl.) Speci e to Appeal (Crl.) No.9792/2025, ha view that the issue of substance abus l public health crisis in the twenty-fir country worldwide, as drug traffickin come pervasive. The United Nation rime (UNODC) reported in its 202 t “As at 2023, some 316 million peop rugs in the past year, representing a ecade that outpaces population growt prevalence of drug use.” as been a concerning increase in dru th. Substance abuse not only affec of the art from st him. Deputy is stand, pending led the ground certain India pecial , has e abuse first fficking Nations 2025 people ting an growth, in drug affects GURBACHAN SINGH 2026.02.27 20:20 I attest to the accuracy and integrity of this document CRM-M- -22845-2025 -5 individuals, families, and co various aspects of health inc cultural foundations, and “Bhattacharya S, Menon GS, Kushwaha P. The lingering m Indian youth – it’s time for a 2025;50:S9-12, published on 1 10. According to many ne dilemma between tackling the sacrificing its most valuable re extent of menace of drug abu this Court in the case of A Investigation Agency, (2025) 5 observed as under: “9.1 The ills of drug a length and breadth of o every State Governmen substance abuse. The d and drug abuse is an im India. As the globe escalating Substance Us accessible drug mark generational Page 75 of even national security. makes it a duty of the level of nutrition and th 5- nd communities but also undermine th including physical, social, politica and mental well-being. (Se n GS, Garg S, Grover A, Saleem SM ring menace of drug abuse among th e for action. Indian J Community Me d on 17th April, 2025”). ny news reports, India faces a cle ng the narcotics crisis systematically o able resource i.e. its young people. Th ug abuse has also been highlighted b of Ankush Vipan Kapoor v. Nation 025) 5 SCC 155 wherein this Court ha drug abuse seem to be shadowing th th of our country with the Central an rnment fighting against the menace o The debilitating impact of drug trad s an immediate and serious concern fo globe grapples with the menace o nce Use Disorders (“SUD”) and an ev market, the consequences leave 75 of 84 imprint on public health an curity. Article 47 of the Constitutio f the State to regard the raising of th and the standard of living of its peop ermines olitical, (See: em SM, ong the ity Med a clear ically or ple. The hted by ational ourt has ing the tral and nace of g trade cern for ace of an ever leave a alth and stitution g of the s people GURBACHAN SINGH 2026.02.27 20:20 I attest to the accuracy and integrity of this document CRM-M- -22845-2025 -6 and the improvement primary duties and in pa to bring about prohibiti medicinal purposes of which are injurious responsibility to addr predicament and develo to ensure that India’s particularly vulnerable and saved from such me substance abuse is link contribute to child mal even property crime in a 11. In the present case, th Respondent-accused was in and charges have not been serious inasmuch as not only i the commercial quantity but t got the cavities ingeniously conceal the contraband. 12. Prima facie this Cou Respondentaccused is involv organized manner. Consequen mandatory requirement of Sec out in the present matter. 6- ment of public health as among i d in particular the State shall endeavou ohibition of the consumption except fo es of intoxicating drinks and of drug rious to health. The State has address the root causes of th develop effective intervention strategie ndia’s younger population, which rable to substance abuse, is protecte ch menace. This is particularly becaus is linked to social problems and ca ld maltreatment, spousal violence, an e in a family.” ase, this Court finds that though th s in custody for one year four month been framed, yet the allegations a only is the recovery much in excess o y but the Respondent-accused alleged iously fabricated below the trailor Court is of the opinion that th involved in drug trafficking in a sequently, no case for dispensing wi of Section 37 of the NDPS Act is mad ong its deavour cept for f drugs has a of this trategies hich is rotected because and can ce, and ugh the months ons are xcess of llegedly ailor to hat the in an ng with is made GURBACHAN SINGH 2026.02.27 20:20 I attest to the accuracy and integrity of this document CRM-M- India versu of 2025, ha -22845-2025 -7 13. Moreover, this Court is has been charged with offenc years rigorous imprisonmen Respondent has been incarce time.” Further, the Hon’ble Supreme versus Vigin K. Varghese, Special , has held as under: “15. At this stage, two featu conclusion that there is no m had any knowledge of the coc arrived at without discussi respondent and circumstances including the assertion that the for import, controlled the logi overseas supplier, and was pr opened. The High Court ha circumstances, taken at face bail, could prima facie i involvement sufficient to attr mental state indicated under Se 16. Further, while granting there were no antecedents ag before this Court includes respondent had already been a earlier seizure of approx 7- ourt is of the view that as the accuse offences punishable with ten to twen onment, it cannot be said that th incarcerated for an unreasonably lon upreme Court in the case of Union o cial Leave Petition (Crl.) No(s).776 features stand out. The High Court no material to show that the applica he cocaine in the consignment has bee iscussion of the statements of th tances relied upon by the prosecutio hat the respondent had placed the orde he logistics chain, coordinated with th as present when the consignment wa urt has not examined whether thos face value for the limited purpose o acie indicate conscious control o to attract the presumption of culpab nder Section 35 of the NDPS Act. nting bail, the High Court recorded th nts against the applicant. The materi ludes the Union’s assertion that th been apprehended in connection with a approximately 198.1 kilograms o accused twenty hat the ly long ion of ).7768 Court’s pplicant as been of the ecution, e orders with the ent was r those pose of trol or culpable ded that material that the h an ms of GURBACHAN SINGH 2026.02.27 20:20 I attest to the accuracy and integrity of this document CRM-M- Hon’ble Su 8. arrested on filed, char -22845-2025 -8 Methamphetamine and 9.035 imported through the same cha seizure. That assertion is neit impugned orders. 17. The High Court then, o recorded a finding that there ex that the applicant is not guilty prolonged incarceration and li bail. Such a finding is not statutory threshold under Se disentitle the discretionary necessarily rest on careful app conclusion of this nature, if prosecution’s assertions of o involvement, risks trenching which would be in the domain Similarly, in NCB vs. Mohit ble Supreme Court has held as under: “The length of the period of charge-sheet has been filed an themselves not considerations grounds for granting relief to of the NDPS Act.” Reverting back to the facts of ted on 22.9.2024. On culmination o , charges have been framed. The case 8- 9.035 kilograms of Cocaine alleged me channel only days before the prese is neither noticed nor answered in th then, on the strength of those premise here exist reasonable grounds to believ t guilty of the alleged offence, treatin and likely delay as the justification s not a casual observation. It is th der Section 37(1)(b)(ii) which wou nary relief and grant of bail mu ul appraisal of the material available. re, if returned without addressing th s of operative control and antecede ching upon appreciation of evidenc omain of trial court at first instance.” ohit Aggarwal, (2022) 18 SCC 37 nder:- d of his custody or the fact that th d and the trial has commenced are b ions that can be treated as persuasiv ef to the respondent under Section 3 acts of the case in hand, petitioner wa tion of investigation, challan has bee he case is presently listed for recordin llegedly present d in the remises, believe treating for t is the would il must lable. A sing the tecedent vidence nce.” 374, at the are by uasive ion 37 ner was as been cording GURBACHAN SINGH 2026.02.27 20:20 I attest to the accuracy and integrity of this document CRM-M- prosecution information and was c ‘Heroin’ containing commercia details ther cases, he h 31.7.2014 dated 01.06 two cases, Station Cit Police Stat 12.03.2018 petitioner s placed on rigors of Se 9. 10. opinion on comments. 12.02.2026 gbs -22845-2025 -9 cution evidence. As per the case o mation, when the house of petitioner w was caught red handed keeping in and 50 loose white coloured tabl ining salt Etizolam, weighing 6.95 g ercial quantity). That apart petitioner ls thereof have been given in para 10 , he has undergone sentence in two c 014, u/s 21 NDPS Act, Police Stat 01.06.2015, u/s 22 NDPS Act, Polic cases, bearing FIR No. 114 dated 01.0 City Jalalabad, FIR No.86 dated 2 Station Badhni Kalan, he stand co 2018, u/s 22 NDPS Act, Police ioner stands acquitted. Thus, from the d on record, no case is made out in s of Section 37 of NDPS Act. Thus, petition being devoid of Any observation made herein ion on the case’s merits nor shall ents. .2026 Whether Speaking/reasoned Whether Reportable 9- case of prosecution, based on a secr ioner was raided, he was present there g in his illegal possession 10 gram d tablets (which were later found to b 6.95 grams (above 2.5 grams falls itioner is involved in six other cases, th ara 10 of status report. Out of said s two cases bearing FIR No. 112 date Station City Jalalabad, FIR No. 3 olice Station Fatehgarh Panjtoor 01.08.2014, u/s 223/224 IPC, Polic ted 25.09.2013, u/s 21/22 NDPS Ac and convicted and in FIR No.17 date olice Station, Fatehgarh Panjtoo m the rival submissions as also materi out in favour of petitioner to meet th oid of any merit, is hereby dismissed hereinabove is neither an expression o shall the trial Court advert to thes (AARADHNA SAWHNEY) JUDGE : Yes/No : Yes/No a secret t therein grams nd to be falls in , the said six dated o. 34 oor; in Police S Act, dated njtoor, material eet the issed. ssion of to these NEY) GURBACHAN SINGH 2026.02.27 20:20 I attest to the accuracy and integrity of this document