IN THE HIGH COURT FOR THE STATES OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH Manish Kumar Kanhani @ Munna ...Petitioner Versus Union of India, Narcotic Contral Bureau ...Respondent Sr. No. Particulars Details 1 The date when the judgment is reserved 19.03.2026 2 The date when the judgment is pronounced 23.03.2026 3 The date when the judgment is uploaded on the website 23.03.2026 Whether only operative part of the judgment is pronounced or full

4 Full judgment is pronounced The delay, if any, of the pronouncement of full judgment, and Not

5 reasons thereof applicable CORAM: HON'BLE MRS. JUSTICE MANISHA BATRA Present:- Mr. Satnam Singh Gill, Advocate for the petitioner.

Mr. H. S. Sullar, Senior Public Prosecutor for the respondent/UOI/NCB.

MANISHA BATRA, J.

1. The instant one is the fourth petition, filed under Section 483 of Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, for grant of regular bail to the petitioner in case NCB Chandigarh Crime No. 11/2023, dated 13.05.2023, registered under Sections 8, 15, 25, 27A, 29, 60 and 62 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 (for short ‘NDPS Act’).

2. A perusal of the record reveals that the first petition, filed by the petitioner, bearing CRM-M-31382-2023, seeking grant of regular bail, was dismissed by this Court on merits on 12.09.2023 by making the following observations:

“No doubt, the petitioner was nominated as an accused in pursuance of a disclosure statement allegedly made by co- accused, however, this Court cannot be expected to turn a blind eye to the huge recovery of 1805.25 kgs of poppy husk effected from the co-accused along with drug money of `5.20 lakh recovered from the house of the petitioner. Still further, in view of the instructions received by learned counsel for the NCB, that investigation was still underway qua the illegal wealth amassed by the petitioner on account of his involvement in the drug syndicate, this Court does not deem it fit to extend the concession of regular bail to the petitioner.”

3. Thereafter, the petitioner filed another petition bearing number CRM-M-4844-2024 but the same was withdrawn by him on 29.08.2024. He approached the Hon’ble Supreme Court for grant of bail by filing an SLP bearing No. 17948 of 2024. However, the same was disposed of on 02.01.2025 by making the following observations:

“The observations of the High Court while permitting withdrawal of the application seeking bail would not come in the way of the petitioner making another application in accordance with law which shall be considered on its own merits. The Special Leave Petition is disposed of in the aforesaid terms.”

4. The petitioner then filed another petition, bearing number CRM-M-6848-2025, before this Court for grant of bail, which too was dismissed by this Court on 03.07.2025. The operative part of the order dated

03.07.2025 reads as under:

“7. The recovery in the present case pertains to a commercial quantity of narcotic substance – 1805.25 kgs of poppy husk – which falls well within the parameters of Section 37 of the NDPS Act, thereby imposing statutory restrictions on the grant of bail. The allegations against the petitioner are not limited to mere association with the co-accused. Instead, there exists substantive material on record pointing towards his prima facie involvement as a key supplier in the chain of illicit drug trafficking.

8. The financial transactions traced to the petitioner and his ₹

family members, particularly 1,00,00,000/- deposited by the ₹

son of the co-accused, coupled with the seizure of 85.20 lakhs from the residence of the petitioner, constitute grave and incriminating circumstances that go well beyond the scope of speculative or coincidental links.

9. While the learned counsel for the petitioner has sought to justify the financial dealings as being part of a legitimate business, the magnitude, nature, and manner of the transactions, as revealed during investigation, render such a claim untenable at this stage.

10. The mere passage of time in c