UKHC010124072026 2026:UHC:5956 SL. No. Date Office Notes, reports, orders or proceedings or directions and Registrar’s order with Signatures COURT’S OR JUDGE’S ORDERS WPCRL/1357/2026 Mohd. Manan --Petitioner Versus Narcotics Control Bureau --Respondent Hon’ble Alok Mahra, J. Mr. Navneet Kumar Sharma, Advocate for the petitioner. Mr. Tanmay Tiwari, Advocate, holding brief of Mr. Shobhit Saharia, Advocate for the respondents. 2. By means of the present writ petition, petitioner seeks issuance of a writ of certiorari for quashing the notice dated 01.07.2026 issued under Section 67 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 in Crime No. 04 of 2026, whereby he has been directed to appear in person before the officers of the Narcotics Control Bureau (N.C.B.), Dehradun, on 10.07.2026. 3. Learned counsel appearing for the petitioner submits that the impugned notice has been issued arbitrarily and without any lawful basis. It is contended that the petitioner was neither present at the place of occurrence at the time of the alleged recovery nor was any contraband recovered from his conscious possession. According to the petitioner, only his Aadhaar Card and PAN Card were allegedly recovered from the place of the incident. It is further submitted that the petitioner has a bona fide apprehension that, under the guise of recording his statement pursuant to the impugned notice, the officials of the N.C.B. may illegally detain UKHC010124072026 2026:UHC:5956 or arrest him. 4. Having considered the submissions advanced by learned counsel for the petitioner and upon perusal of the impugned notice, this Court finds that the apprehension expressed by the petitioner, at this stage, appears to be misconceived. A plain reading of the notice demonstrates that the petitioner has been summoned only for the purpose of recording his statement under Section 67 of the N.D.P.S. Act and has been described therein as a material witness and not as an accused. Mere issuance of such a notice, by itself, does not give rise to a presumption that the petitioner is liable to be arrested. 5. Nevertheless, in order to balance the interests of a fair investigation with the rights of the petitioner, it is observed that while recording the statement of the petitioner pursuant to the impugned notice, the officials of the N.C.B. shall act strictly in accordance with law and shall ensure that the petitioner is not subjected to any unnecessary harassment or coercion. 6. Since the date specified in the impugned notice, i.e., 10.07.2026, has already expired during the pendency of the present writ petition, this Court deems it appropriate to fix a fresh date for the petitioner’s appearance. Accordingly, the petitioner shall appear before the competent officer of the Narcotics Control Bureau, Dehradun on 24.07.2026 at 11:00 a.m. and shall extend full cooperation in the investigation. 7. With the aforesaid observations and directions, the writ petition stands disposed of. (Alok Mahra, J.) 17.07.2026 Arpan ARPAN JAISWAL Digitally signed by ARPAN JAISWAL DN: c=IN, o=HIGH COURT OF UTTARAKHAND, ou=HIGH COURT OF UTTARAKHAND, 2.5.4.20=eabb68a3895e41937c266c23964c0485365445e3a20ddd b7393398f9fe45ba3e, postalCode=263001, st=UTTARAKHAND, serialNumber=060FC17022BEAE3DE215D68D9D454C5109CB9874 46351E4DF04AADAA2C2CEA66, cn=ARPAN JAISWAL Date: 2026.07.17 17:04:51 +05'30'