Punjab drugs menace: HC advances case hearing by a month to October 13

Saurabh Malik

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, October 4

The Punjab and Haryana High Court on Tuesday advanced the hearing of Punjab drugs menace case by almost a month.

The suo motu or “court on its own motion case” against the State of Punjab, earlier scheduled to be heard on November 15, will now be taken up for hearing by the newly-constituted Bench of Justice Augustine George Masih and Justice Ashok Kumar Verma on October 13, just before the High Court closes down for the Dussehra break.

The direction came after counsel for the parties, including the State, said they had no objection to advancing of the date. Justice Masih was a member of the Bench that initially took suo motu cognizance of a letter forwarded to the High Court by retired IPS officer Shashi Kant way back in September 2013 underscoring drug menace in Punjab and requesting for judicial scrutiny.

Kant was assisting the Bench of then Chief Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Justice Masih in another petition by Tarlochan Singh and other petitioners on the specific issue of drug menace in the jails of Punjab.

The suo motu case came up for hearing on a regular basis till March last year, but came to a standstill after the High Court went into restrictive functioning mode following Covid outbreak, compelling advocate Navkiran Singh to file an application for advancing the date of hearing in the case.

Appearing on the behalf of Lawyers for Human Rights International, counsel Navkiran Singh also prayed that the Bench “may open” a report lying in a sealed cover in the case. He had contended the matter related to drug mafia operating in Punjab and was having international tentacles. It was required to be dealt with on an urgent basis as it affected the lives of the Punjabi youth.

Taking up the plea, the special Division Bench of Justice Rajan Gupta and Justice Ajay Tewari made clear its intent to examine the inquiry reports submitted during the past couple of year in the case before proceeding further in the matter.

The Bench also directed High Court Registrar (Judicial) to produce the reports in the chambers before the next date of hearing in August end. The Bench, at that time, observed that it had been recently constituted, while the various inquiry reports were submitted two to three years back and were required to be perused.