Saurabh Malik
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, November 1
Amidst claims by state agencies of earnest efforts to arrest the flow of narcotics, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has made it clear that society was grappling with the drug menace and it was required to be brought to an end at the earliest.
The assertion came as Justice Harsimran Singh Sethi of the High Court dismissed an anticipatory bail plea of an accused in a case registered on September 26 under the provisions of the Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act at the Kotkapura City police station in Faridkot district.
“In the facts and circumstances of the case, in order to elicit the truth, the custodial interrogation of the petitioner is necessary. Keeping in view the fact that the drug menace is grappling the society and the same needs to be curbed at the earliest, no ground is made out for grant of anticipatory bail. The petition is hereby dismissed,” Justice Sethi asserted.
The petitioner in the case had submitted that the benefit of bail may be extended to him as contraband was not recovered. He was arrested on the basis of disclosure statement made by co-accused, from whom 1,850 intoxicant tablets were recovered. His counsel had submitted that the petitioner was ready to cooperate after joining the investigation.
Punjab state counsel, on the other hand, submitted it had come on record in the disclosure statement of the co-accused that they had purchased the intoxicant tablets from the petitioner. Even the sale consideration of the contraband was disclosed in the statement. Therefore, his custodial interrogation was necessary to find out the source. The state counsel submitted the petitioner was also facing another case for violating the provisions of the NDPS Act.
After hearing counsel for the parties and going through the record, Justice Sethi asserted: “The source of the contraband needs to be elicited during the investigation. Even the Supreme Court in the judgment ‘State represented by CBI versus Anil Sharma’, has held that in case where serious allegations have been alleged and the truth needs to be elicited from the accused, the same can only be done through custodial interrogation as compared to questioning the suspect, who is already on anticipatory bail.”
Society grappling with drug menace: Punjab and Haryana High Court
{$excerpt:n}
