E-Paper
Punjab reeling under drug menace, can’t go easy on repeat offenders: SC
A bench, headed by justice Surya Kant, emphasised that courts ought to deal with iron hand when accused are found involved in multiple cases of peddling.
New Delhi Punjab is reeling under the grip of narcotics and several “drug lords” are operating cross-border rackets at the cost of public health and national security, an anguished Supreme Court stressed on Tuesday while imploring courts to refrain from casually releasing such offenders on bail.
A bench, headed by justice Surya Kant, emphasised that the courts ought to deal with an iron hand when accused are found to be involved in multiple cases of peddling or trafficking, and the parameters of granting bail in a case under special statutes such as the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act should not be construed liberally.
“Drug addiction has posed a serious threat to the once vibrant state of Punjab. The courts, therefore, ought to be highly circumspect while granting bail, especially to a repeat offender,” held the bench, which also included justice Dipankar Datta.
Refusing to protect a man from arrest in an NDPS case, the bench maintained that the involvement of the petitioner in another drug case completely disentitles him from any reprieve from the top court in the wake of Punjab facing a huge narcotics problem.
Also Read | Narcotics huge problem in Punjab, says SC; denies protection to dismissed cop
“The state of Punjab is reeling under the grip of drug menace. There are several drug lords whose roots are identifiable in the state of Punjab, and who operate in the cross-border drug racketing and organised trafficking of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances. It is a matter of common knowledge that huge cache of illicit drugs is smuggled across the border,” lamented the bench in a recent order.
The top court further expressed concerns over the reported complicity of police officers, pharmaceutical companies, and others, in running the trafficking racket, as the state finds it difficult to wage a war against drugs.
“Some local pharmaceutical industries, state police officials and other affluent people have been suspected of being involved, on occasions, in international drug trafficking. Drug addiction has posed a serious threat to the once vibrant state of Punjab,” underlined the bench.
The court was hearing an appeal by a man who was booked under the NDPS Act in October 2022 over the recovery of 20 grams of heroin in Ludhiana. After the Punjab & Haryana high court granted an interim protection from arrest to the accused, he was booked in another NDPS case in March 2023. Noting his alleged involvement in another case while he was on interim bail in the first one, the high court refused to give anticipatory bail.
Also Read | Punjab will be 'drug-free' by next Independence Day: CM Mann
He argued that since it was a case of recovery of a non-commercial quantity of the contraband, rigors of Section 37 of the NDPS Act are not attracted. Section 37 of the Act states that no accused shall be released on bail unless the prosecutor is given an opportunity to oppose such a plea and the court is also satisfied that there are grounds to believe that the accused is not guilty of the alleged offence.
The apex court, however, dismissed his plea, holding that the accused does not deserve to be extended the benefit of pre-arrest bail in a case of recovery of contraband like heroin and when he is also found involved in one more case under the NDPS Act.
“The appellant, as it seems from the allegations, is a drug peddler and there is every likelihood of his returning to the same illicit trade once he is allowed the privilege of pre-arrest bail. We are, thus, of the opinion that the appellant does not deserve the concession of anticipatory bail,” said the bench, asking the accused to seek regular bail from the trial court, which it said will be decided on its own merit.
In November, the top court echoed similar sentiments when it rejected a plea filed by a dismissed senior cop in Punjab seeking anticipatory bail in a case where he is accused of shielding his subordinate accused of having links with drug suppliers. Another bench of the court observed that Punjab seemed to have a serious problem of complicity of police officers with drug offenders as it junked the petition filed by former additional inspector general (AIG) Raj Jit Singh Hundal.
