Drug Trafficking: Punjab & Haryana High Court Suggests Procedure Of Destroying Seized Contraband Should Be Monitored By Judicial Officer

While hearing the suo moto cognisance against drug trafficking at the border areas of Punjab, the Punjab & Haryana High Court has said that the procedure of destroying the seized heroin should be monitored by a Judicial Officer.

Previously, the court had noted that reportedly 755 Kg of narcotic items, which were being supplied in India on the border by way of drones, had been recovered.

A division bench of Acting Chief Justice Ritu Bahri and Justice Nidhi Gupta directed the Punjab government to file a better affidavit/status report clarifying when the heroin had been handed over to the State of Punjab and how the State of Punjab was dealing with the case property to destroy the same.

However, this Court is of the view that the said procedure of destroying the heroin should be monitored by a Judicial Officer, it opined.

Haryana government was also directed to file the latest status report with regard to the aforesaid context, added the bench.

It further directed the Union of India and Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) to file a reply mentioning how many people were drug addicts in the State of Haryana, Punjab, and Union Territory, Chandigarh.

In December, the bench stated that the Court is taking suo moto cognizance of a news item published in the daily newspaper “The Pioneer” Chandigarh, "wherein it has been reported that the Border Security Force (BSF) has raised a concern of preventive detention of smugglers to combat drug smuggling and they have given a list of 75 individuals, who are suspected of involvement in drug trafficking, to the Punjab Police."

Adding that the narcotic items recovered in the State of Punjab, as reported in the newspaper, are huge, the Court directed the States to give details of "what kind of steps can be taken to make persons, who till date are not in drug addiction, aware of the drug menace, and how they should be prevented from taking drugs."

Case Title: Court on its own motion v. Union of India and others.

Appearance: Anu Pal, Senior Deputy Advocate General, Punjab and. Deepak Balyan, Additional Advocate General, Haryana.

Puneeta Sethi, Sr. Panel Counsel for UOI/NCB.

Click here to read/download the order