Punjab-Haryana High Court
Raj Bhadur vs State Of Punjab on 9 July, 2026
CRM-M No.34365 of 2026 -1-
IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA
AT CHANDIGARH
253
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CRM-M No.34365 of 2026
Date of decision : 9.7.2026
Date of uploading : 9.7.2026
Raj Bahadur .............Petitioner
Versus
State of Punjab .......Respondent
CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE SUMEET GOEL
Present: Mr. Chandan Singh Rana, Advocate, for the petitioner
Mr. Hemant Aggarwal, DAG, Punjab
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SUMEET GOEL, J. (ORAL)
1. Present petition has been filed under Section 483 of Bharatiya
Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, for grant of regular bail to the petitioner
in case bearing FIR No.52 dated 26.2.2025, registered for the offences
punishable under Sections 21(C) and 29 of the Narcotic Drugs and
Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 (for short ‘NDPS Act‘) at Police
Station Division No.5, District Police Commissionerate, Ludhiana.
2. The gravamen of the FIR in question is that on 26.2.2025, on a
secret information, the petitioner alongwith other co-accused was
apprehended and 255 grams of heroin was recovered from them.
3. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that the petitioner is
in custody since 26.2.2025. Learned counsel for the petitioner has further
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submitted that the mandatory provisions of the NDPS Act have not been
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CRM-M No.34365 of 2026 -2-
complied with, and thus, the prosecution case suffers from inherent
defects. Learned counsel has iterated that the contraband alleged to have
been recovered from the petitioner and his co-accused is 255 grams of
heroin, which is marginally above the threshold limit of non-commercial
quantity specified in the notification issued under the NDPS Act. Learned
counsel for the petitioner has iterated that the trial is delayed and the
liability thereof cannot be fastened upon the petitioner. Learned counsel
has further iterated that the petitioner has suffered incarceration for more
than 01 year and 4 months. Thus, regular bail is prayed for.
4. Learned State counsel has filed status report by way of affidavit
of Sarabjeet Singh, PPS, Assistant Commissioner of Police, Civil Lines,
Ludhiana, in Court today. The same be kept on record. Copy thereof has
been furnished to learned counsel for the petitioner. Raising submissions
in tandem with the said status report, learned State counsel has opposed
the present petition by arguing that the allegations raised against the
petitioner are serious in nature and, thus, he does not deserve the
concession of the regular bail. Learned State counsel has further
submitted that the instant bail plea is restricted by the rigors of Section 37
of the NDPS Act, and thus, the same ought to be dismissed. Learned
State counsel seeks to place on record custody certificate dated 8.7.2026
in Court, which is taken on record.
5. I have heard counsel for the rival parties and have gone through
the available records of the case.
6. The petitioner was arrested on 26.2.2025 whereinafter,
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CRM-M No.34365 of 2026 -3-
investigation was carried out and the challan was presented on 25.4.2025.
Total 13 prosecution witnesses have been cited, out of which 4 have been
partly examined till date. It is not in dispute that the contraband allegedly
recovered from the petitioner is 255 grams of heroin, which is marginally
above the threshold limit of non-commercial quantity. Reliance in this
regard can be placed upon the orders passed by this Court in Rajdev Giri
versus State of Punjab, CRM-M-44898-2019, decided on 18.09.2020;
Rahish versus State of Haryana, CRM-M-36498-2020, decided on
11.11.2020; Karambir versus State of Haryana, CRM-M-31820-2019,
decided on 28.08.2019: Jagjit Singh @ Jagga Gill versus State of
Punjab, CRM-M-41242-2019, decided on 27.02.2020 and Baljit Kaur @
Baljito versus State of Punjab, CRM-M-12849-2020, decided on
04.06.2020, wherein accused were enlarged on bail in cases where the
alleged recovery was slightly more than the quantity prescribed for non-
commercial category under the NDPS Act. The rival contentions raised at
Bar give rise to debatable issues which shall be ratiocinated upon during
the course of trial. This Court does not deem it appropriate to delve deep
into these rival contentions, at this stage, lest it may prejudice the trial.
Nothing tangible has been brought forward to indicate the likelihood of
the petitioner absconding from the process of justice or interfering with
the prosecution evidence.
6.1. The trial is indeed procrastinating and folly thereof cannot be
saddled upon the petitioner. As per custody certificate dated 8.7.2026
filed by the learned State counsel, the petitioner has already suffered
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CRM-M No.34365 of 2026 -4-
incarceration for a period of 01 year, 4 months and 9 days & is not shown
to be involved in any other case. In this view of the matter, the rigors
imposed under Section 37 of the NDPS Act stands diluted in light of the
Article 21 of the Constitution of India.
6.2. This Court in a judgment titled as Kulwinder versus State of
Punjab passed in CRM-M-64074-2024 (2025:PHHC:002695); after
relying upon the ratio decidendi of the judgments of the Hon’ble Supreme
Court in Hussainara Khatoon vs. Home Secy., State of Bihar (1980) 1
SCC 81; Abdul Rehman Antulay vs R.S. Nayak (1992) 1 SCC 225; Javed
Gulam Nabi Shaikh vs. State of Maharashtra and another, 2024(3) RCR
(Criminal) 494; Mohd Muslim @ Hussain vs. State (NCT of Delhi)
reported as 2023 INSC 311; Criminal Appeal No.245/2020 dated
07.02.2020 titled as “Chitta Biswas Alias Subhas vs. The State of West
Bengal“; “Nitish Adhikary @ Bapan vs. The State of West Bengal”,
Special Leave to Appeal (Crl.) No.5530-2022 dated 22.08.2022 titled as
“Mohammad Salman Hanif Shaikh vs. The State of Gujarat“; Criminal
Appeal No.1169 of 2022 dated 05.08.2022 titled as Gopal Krishna Patra
@ Gopalrusma vs. Union of India, and Ankur Chaudhary vs. State of
Madhya Pradesh, 2024(4) RCR (Criminal) 172; has held, thus:
“7.8. The right to a speedy and expeditious trial is not only a vital
safeguard to prevent undue and oppressive incarceration; to mitigate
anxiety and concern accompanying the accusation as well as to curtail
any impairment in the ability of an accused to defend himself, but there
is an overarching societal interest paving way for a speedy trial. This
right has been repeatedly actuated in the recent past and the ratio
decidendi of the above-referred to Supreme Court’s judgments have
laid down a series of decisions opening up new vistas of fundamental
rights. The concept of speedy trial is amalgamated into the Article 21
as an essential part of the fundamental right to life and liberty,
guaranteed and preserved under our Constitution. The right to speedy
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CRM-M No.34365 of 2026 -5-the accused and consequent incarceration which continues at all
stages, namely, the stage of investigation, inquiry, trial, appeal and
revision so that any possible prejudice that may result due to
impermissible and avoidable delay since the time of the commission of
the offence till the criminal proceedings consummate into a finality,
could be averted. The speedy trial, early hearing and quick disposal
are sine qua non of criminal jurisprudence. The overcrowded Court-
dockets, the heavy volume of work and the resultant pressure on the
prosecution and the Police, indubitably keeps the entire criminal
jurisprudential mechanism under stress and strain. However, this
cannot be an excuse for keeping the sword of Damocles hanging on the
accused for an indefinite period of time. It does not serve any credit to
the criminal justice system, rather it makes for a sad state of affairs.
The guarantee of a speedy trial is intended to avoid oppression and
prevent delay by imposing on the Court and the prosecution an
obligation to proceed with the trial with a reasonable dispatch. The
guarantee serves a threefold purpose. Firstly, it protects the accused
against oppressive pre-trial imprisonment; secondly, it relieves the
accused of the anxiety and public suspicion due to unresolved criminal
charges and lastly, it protects against the risk that evidence will be lost
or memories dimmed by the passage of time, thus, impairing the ability
of the accused to defend himself. It goes without saying that the
consequences of pre-trial detention are grave. Accused, presumed
innocent, till proven otherwise, are subjected to psychological and
physical deprivations of jail-life, usually under onerous conditions.
Equally important, the burden of detention of such an accused
frequently falls heavily on the innocent members of his family.
There is yet another aspect of the matter which deserves
consideration at this stage. The allegations in the present case relate to
accused being involved in an FIR relating to commercial quantity of
contraband under the NDPS Act, 1985. While considering a bail
petition in a case involving commercial quantity, the Court has to keep
in mind the rigours enumerated under Section 37 of NDPS Act, 1985
which mandates that Courts can grant bail to an accused only after
hearing the public prosecutor and after having satisfied itself of twin
conditions which are reasonable grounds for believing that the accused
is not guilty of the offence charged/alleged and that, he is not likely to
commit any offence while on bail. The stringent rigours of Section 37
of the NDPS Act, 1985 must be meticulously scrutinized against the
backdrop of accused’s fundamental right to a speedy trial. The right to
life and personal liberty cannot be rendered nugatory by unwarranted
delays in the judicial process, particularly where such delay(s) is
neither attributable to the accused nor justified at the end of the
prosecution by cogent reasons. An individual cannot be kept behind
bars for an inordinate period of time by taking refuge in rigours laid
down in Section 37 of the NDPS Act, 1985. The legislature in its
wisdom, in order to ensure speedy and timely disposal of the cases
under the Act, has provided for the constitution of special Courts under
Section 36-A of the Act. However, this Court cannot turn Nelson’s eye
to the protracted delays and systematic inefficiency that frustrate this
legislative purpose. A Court of law is duty-bound to ensure that it does
not become complicit in violation of an individual’s fundamental rights,
notwithstanding anything contained in a statute. While dealing with
bail petition in a case governed by the rigours of Section 37 of the
NDPS Act, 1985, the Court must strike a judicious balance between the
legislative intent to curb the menace of drugs and the sacrosanct right
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CRM-M No.34365 of 2026 -6-of the accused to a fair and expeditious trial. Prolonged incarceration,
without justifiable cause, risks transforming pre-trial detention into
punitive imprisonment, an outcome antithetical to the principle of
justice and equity.
Ergo, the unequivocal inference is that where the trial has
failed to conclude within a reasonable time, resulting in prolonged
incarceration, it militates against the precious fundamental rights of
life and liberty granted under the law and, as such, conditional liberty
overriding the statutory embargo created under Section 37 of the
NDPS Act, 1985 ought to be considered as per facts of a given case. In
other words, grant of bail in a case pertaining to commercial quantity,
on the ground of undue delay in trial, cannot be said to be fettered by
Section 37 of the NDPS Act, 1985.”
Suffice to say, further detention of the petitioner as an undertrial
is not warranted in the facts and circumstances of the case.
7. In view of above, the present petition is allowed. Petitioner is
ordered to be released on regular bail on his furnishing bail/surety bonds
to the satisfaction of the Ld. concerned trial Court/Duty Magistrate.
However, in addition to conditions that may be imposed by the concerned
trial Court/Duty Magistrate, the petitioner shall remain bound by the
following conditions:
(i) The petitioner shall not mis-use the liberty granted.
(ii) The petitioner shall not tamper with any evidence, oral
or documentary, during the trial.
(iii) The petitioner shall not absent himself on any date
before the trial.
(iv) The petitioner shall not commit any offence while on
bail.
(v) The petitioner shall deposit his passport, if any, with
the trial Court.
(vi) The petitioner shall give his cellphone number to the
Investigating Officer/SHO of concerned Police Station
and shall not change his cell-phone number without
prior permission of the trial Court/Illaqa Magistrate.
(vii) The petitioner shall not in any manner try to delay the
trial.
(viii) The petitioner shall submit, on the first working day of
every month, an affidavit, before the concerned trial
Court, to the effect that he has not been involved in
commission of any offence after being released on
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bail. In case the petitioner is found to be involved in
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CRM-M No.34365 of 2026 -7-any offence after his being enlarged on bail in the
present FIR, on the basis of his affidavit or otherwise,
the State is mandated to move, forthwith, for
cancellation of his bail which plea, but of course, shall
be ratiocinated upon merits thereof.
8. In case of breach of any of the aforesaid conditions and those
which may be imposed by concerned trial Court/Duty Magistrate as
directed hereinabove or upon showing any other sufficient cause, the
State/complainant shall be at liberty to move cancellation of bail of the
petitioner.
9. Ordered accordingly.
10. Nothing said hereinabove shall be construed as an expression of
opinion on the merits of the case. 1
(SUMEET GOEL)
JUDGE
9.7.2026
Ashwani
Whether speaking/reasoned: Yes/No
Whether reportable: Yes/No
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