Non-appearance of cops in drug case: Keep SI in jail till his statement is recorded, says HC

The bench of justice Rajbir Sehrawat ordered that SI Paramjeet Singh be taken into protective custody and be kept in Central Jail, Kapurthala

The Punjab and Haryana high court has directed Kapurthala police to put a cop, who had been skipping court summons and not appearing as a witness in a drugs seizure case, behind bars and produce him before the trial court on the date fixed for the purpose.

The court took serious note of the matter and observed that in the given circumstances the coercive action against this witness has become imperative and ordered that he be taken into custody. (iStock)

“It is ordered that SI Paramjeet Singh be taken into protective custody within a period of one week from today and be kept in Central Jail, Kapurthala, so as to produce him before the trial court on the next date fixed before that court. It is further ordered that till his examination and cross-examination is completed, he shall remain in custody,” the bench of justice Rajbir Sehrawat ordered asking Kapurthala senior superintendent of police to file a compliance report on April 24, the next date of the hearing.

The court was hearing a bail plea of one Veeryodh Singh booked in a drugs seizure case at police station Sultanpur Lodhi in Kapurthala on July 20, 2021. He had approached the high court on November 23, 2023, seeking bail arguing a long period of incarceration.

The petitioner had produced the court record of the trial court as per which the cop in question has not appeared before the trial court as a witness despite having been summoned and served twice through bailable warrants. The petitioner cannot be kept in custody only for the default of the police officials in not appearing as a witness before the trial court, the petitioner had submitted. The court took serious note of the matter and observed that in the given circumstances the coercive action against this witness has become imperative and ordered that he be taken into custody.

This is not the first case which highlights the problem of cops not appearing as witnesses in drug seizure cases. Several such cases are coming to light every now and then. In February 2024, a high court bench had observed that the object of the enactment of a special law to deal with the drug menace was getting defeated in Punjab and had issued a slew of directions. “The defiance of the official witnesses needs to be addressed. The prosecuting agencies have to shoulder the burden and own responsibility,” the bench had recorded ordering that the police report filed before the trial court shall carry the details of the officer heading the prosecuting agency. The head of the prosecuting agency shall be responsible for supervising the progress of the trial. The court shall fix the date for examination of each and every witness cited in the police report. It will be the duty of the head of the prosecuting agency to make sure that the official witnesses are served and they appear before the trial court as per the schedule, the court had ordered adding that departmental action be taken against erring officials who are cited witnesses and fail to attend the trial despite notice.