Drug Menace: P&H High Court Directs CBI To Enquire Into Large-Scale Manufacturing Of Tablets By Pharma Firms In Himachal
The Punjab & Haryana High Court has directed the CBI to conduct a preliminary enquiry on the alleged large-scale manufacturing of a drug by pharmaceutical firms in Himachal. The tablets manufactured by the firms were allegedly caught for being used for illicit trade.
Justice Vinod S. Bhardwaj said, “Taking into consideration that huge quantity of drugs has been seized and the volume of Alprasafe tablets that have been manufactured and the material recovered by tracing back the entire batch number, which was stated to be first sent from Himachal Pradesh to Saharanpur in Uttar Pradesh and then to Palghar in Maharashtra where from it was rerouted through the consignments at a place in Uttar Pradesh where no such firm existed and the drugs were in fact being stored in a godown at Panchkula for further distribution in the State of Punjab, I feel that the issue of this propensity needs to be investigated thoroughly as the racket involves an inter-state operation.”
The Court added that the “possibility of people with clout and presence at different levels of administration cannot be ruled out.”
The petition was filed by a DSP, Vavinder Mahajan stated to be a pioneer in unravelling the biggest drug syndicate operating flawlessly in Punjab and who was allegedly falsely implicated in a drugs case.
Counsel for the petitioner submitted that during the course of investigation in an FIR registered in 2024 under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, recovery of huge quantities of Alprasafe tablets (containing Alprazolam and Tramadol salts) was made.
The said tablets have accounted for the registration of more than three hundred FIRs in Punjab and are amongst the most misused and easily available drugs, he added.
It was revealed through the investigation that certain pharmaceutical firms situated at Baddi in Himachal Pradesh, have indulged in the production of as many as 19.68 crore tablets in a short span of nearly seven months and they have been pumped in the drug trade by clandestine operation through bogus billings and movements on forged documents, the plea stated.
Mahajan claimed that he has been a vocal opponent of the drug trade in the State and has spoken against the leader of the ruling party.
The petitioner added that he was arbitrarily transferred to the 9th Battalion in August after filing the charge sheet in the case since an investigation against the pharma/manufacturers had been kept open.
Considering the submissions the Court directed preliminary enquiry by the CBI and observed that the present case "highlights a grave issue which is at the forefront and rampant in the State of Punjab i.e. the drug menace."
The Court also noted the contention of CBI that they would be in need of certain additional police officers/manpower to be provided by the Punjab Government so as to facilitate the investigation.
"I feel that the request is valid. An investigation of such an important statewide problem cannot be stalled on the pretext of lack of resources. The State has already earned a huge disrepute due to volumes of drug users and abusers," said the Court.
Consequently, it directed the Punjab Government to ensure that the requisite manpower along with the rank of the officers as asked for by the CBI are provided to them within a period of one week from the date of receipt of such request.
"It is made clear that in case, the present order is not complied with, the Court shall proceed ahead to fix responsibility of the officers who are prima-facie in default in non-compliance of the order passed. All the authorities are directed to extend their full cooperation to the CBI for getting the truth uncovered," the Court added.
While listing the matter to February 2025 the bench directed the CBI to file the report on the preliminary probe in 4 months.
Title: VAVINDER MAHAJAN V/S STATE OF PUNJAB AND OTHERS
Mr. P.S. Ahluwalia, Advocate with Mr. Sidhant Vermani, Advocate and
Mr. Siddharth Sihag, Advocate and Mr. Lovejeet Poonia, Advocate for the petitioner.