Asking the DGP of Punjab who will take responsibility for drug mafias, the court pointed out that the accused are getting bail easily due to this.
Published Oct 12, 2023 | 8:44 PM ⚊ Updated Oct 12, 2023 | 8:44 PM
Punjab and Haryana High Court. (Wikimedia Commons)
While the Punjab police were busy patting their back for the crackdown on the drug mafia, the Punjab and Haryana High Court reprimanded the state over the non-appearance of prosecution witnesses in drug cases, leading to a delay in trials.
Punjab Director General of Police (DGP) Garuav Yadav and Home Secretary Gurkirat Kirpal Singh, on Thursday, 12 October, appeared before a high court bench, which had summoned them after expressing displeasure on the issue.
Justice Manjari Nehru Kaul came down heavily on the Punjab police chief, saying that the non-appearance of the cops’ witnesses reflects poorly on the state. Asking the DGP of Punjab who will take responsibility for drug mafias, the court pointed out that the accused are getting bail easily due to the non-appearance of witnesses.
The court is hearing a case pertaining to Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act.
The case was registered against the petitioner in September 2020 at Lambi village in Muktsar district after 1,000 tablets of Clovidol 100 SR and Tramadol Hydrochloride 100 mg, and 500 tablets of Etolam 0.5 and Etizolam 0.5 mg were recovered from his possession.
The counsel of the accused had earlier submitted that the petitioner had been in custody since 1 September 2020 and the charges were framed in August 2021. But only one prosecution witness out of 20 has been examined till date.
The counsel has submitted that there is no likelihood that the trial would conclude any time soon and, hence, the petitioner could not be made to languish in custody for reasons attributable only to the prosecution.
The prosecution witnesses in the case are all official witnesses and have not been appearing during the trial to get their evidence recorded, the counsel argued.
Taking a stern stance, Justice Kaul further pointed out the fact that being a border state, the drug mafias getting out on bail makes it a sensitive issue.
Pointing out that the drug menace in Punjab is a result of cross-border narco-terrorism, the high court went on to tell the DGP, “you have betrayed the trust of the country”.
The DGP of Punjab informed the court that there is a huge burden of drugs cases on the state and the police are taking proactive steps. “We have recovered thousands of kilograms of contraband in the state. Out of 1,700 kg of contraband recovered in the country, 1,400 kg has been recovered in Punjab,” DGP Yadav informed the court.
Responding to his submission, the judge said, “That’s what you are supposed to do and you are obligated to do that. I applaud it but who is to be blamed when the drug mafias and drug addicts are getting bails because of the non-appearance of your officials?”
“This has more or less become a regular feature in the State of Punjab. Prosecution witnesses, who are mostly official witnesses in cases registered under the NDPS Act, have not been appearing during trial to get their evidence recorded, as a result of which the trials are naturally getting delayed,” observed Justice Kaul.
Finally, the high court directed the state government to file an affidavit explaining what measures they will take to address this issue.
