ORDER :

1. The present petition is filed by the petitioner who is mother of the accused, seeks a series of directions under the provisions of Article 226 of the Constitution of India, to address various grievances regarding the criminal proceedings initiated against her son under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985. The petition raises serious concerns about the false implication of the petitioner’s son and the failure of the respondents to preserve crucial evidence, including the CCTV footage from Hindore Toll Plaza, which the petitioner claims is pivotal to his defense.

2. The petitioner seeks the following reliefs through the instant writ petition:

a. By an appropriate writ, order or direction respondents may kindly be directed to procure CCTV footage of the Hindor Toll Plaza dated 20.12.2022 from 8:45 am to 1:00 p.m.

b. By an appropriate writ, order or direction the present petitioner's son may kindly be discharged from the NDPS charges leveled against him.

c. By an appropriate writ, order or direction criminal proceedings initiated against the present petitioner may kindly be drooped.

d. By an appropriate writ, order or direction present petitioner's son may be released from the judicial custody.

e. By an appropriate writ, order or direction FIR no. 323/2022 Police Station Rajiyasar, District Ganganagar (Rajasthan) may kindly be quashed and set aside.

Brief Facts

3. The present writ petition has been filed by the petitioner, who is the mother of the accused, invoking the extraordinary jurisdiction of this Court under Article 226 of the Constitution of India. The grievance of the petitioner arises out of the criminal proceedings initiated vide FIR No. 323/2022 registered at Police Station Rajiyasar, District Sri Ganganagar for offences under Sections 8, 15, 21 and 25 of the NDPS Act. The petitioner contends that her son has been falsely implicated and that the investigation conducted by the police authorities suffers from serious procedural infirmities. It is the specific case of the petitioner that the alleged interception of the vehicles and the subsequent search and recovery are stated to have taken place at Hindore Toll Plaza on the Bikaner–Suratgarh National Highway on 20.12.2022 between approximately 11:10 A.M. and 7:00 P.M., a place which is admittedly equipped with CCTV surveillance systems.

4. According to the prosecution, the complainant–police officer while patrolling noticed a Swift car and a Bolero Pick-up moving at high speed, chased them on suspicion, and ultimately stopped the vehicles at Hindore Toll Plaza where search was conducted in the presence of alleged independent witnesses. It is alleged that from the Swift car bearing registration No. RJ19CK7868 four plastic bags containing poppy husk weighing 76 Kg in total were recovered. However, the petitioner asserts that no recovery was made from the Bolero vehicle and that the alleged recovery from the Swift car is fabricated. It is further alleged that the incident began with a minor altercation between the police personnel and the accused after the side mirror of the Swift car was damaged during the chase, which subsequently led to false implication of the petitioner’s son. The petitioner emphasizes that her son is 38 years old and has no criminal antecedents.

5. The central grievance raised by the petitioner pertains to the deliberate failure of the investigating agency to secure and preserve the CCTV footage of Hindore Toll Plaza for the relevant period. The petitioner had moved an application before the learned Additional Sessions Judge, Suratgarh on 04.01.2023 under Section 91 Cr.P.C. seeking production of CCTV footage for the period between 8:45 A.M. and 1:00 P.M. on 20.12.2022, which could have conclusively demonstrated the sequence of events. The learned trial court directed the prosecution to produce the said footage; however, despite repeated opportunities and judicial directions, the footage was not produced and ultimately the T