IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH Reserved on: 10.09.2025 Pronounced on:18.09.2025 BABBU SINGH ...PETITIONER VERSUS STATE OF PUNJAB …RESPONDENT CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE ANOOP CHITKARA Present: Mr. Parminder Singh Sekhon, Advocate for the petitioner.

Mr. Akshay Kumar, Asst. AG, Punjab.

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ANOOP CHITKARA, J.

FIR No. Dated Police Station Sections

38 08.02.2024 City Barnala, 15/25/29 of NDPS Act District Barnala

1. The petitioner incarcerated in the FIR captioned above had come up before this Court under Section 483 of Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, [BNSS], seeking regular bail.

2. Per paragraph 14 of the bail petition and para 8 of the status report, the petitioner has no criminal antecedents.

3. The facts and allegations are taken from the reply filed by the State. On 08-02- 2024, the Police had seized 600 kgs of poppy straw from a truck and a car and petitioner was found sitting on the driver’s seat of the car. The Investigator claims to have complied with all the statutory requirements of the NDPS Act, 1985, and CrPC, 1973.

4. The petitioner's counsel prays for bail by imposing any stringent conditions and contends that further pre-trial incarceration would cause an irreversible injustice to the petitioner and their family.

5. Petitioner's counsel on instructions submits he has no objection if while granting bail, this Court imposes any stringent conditions and undertakes that petitioner shall not indulge himself in the offence involving the commercial or intermediate quantity or the offence which falls under Section 19/24/27A of NDPS Act. He further submits that if the petitioner involves himself in the said offences, where the sentence imposed is more than

07 years, he has no objection if the State files application for cancellation of his bail.

6. The State’s counsel opposes bail and refers to the reply.

7. It shall be relevant to refer to paragraphs 5 to 7 of the status report which read as follows:

“5. The evidence based on which the petitioner was arraigned as an accused: That the present petitioner was arrested on 08.02.2024 along-with Truck bearing registration No. PB-13AL-8838 (14 tyre) and Swift car bearing registration no. HR-26CD-4353 from Jail Bypas on Moga Barnala highway. The present petitioner was on the driver seat of the said Swift Car which was parked behind the above stated truck. That four bags of 'Poppy Husk' was recovered the back seat of said swift car. The allegations against the present petitioner are well founded and also grave and serious in nature as he used to supply the poppy husk to co accused Paramjit Singh @ Pamma. The FSL report. further verified the highly intoxicating drug i.e. "Meconic acid Morphine, Codeine, Thebaine. Papaverine and Narcotine found in the recovered contraband from present petitioner, hence stringent provisions of Section 37 of the Narcotic Drugs & Psychotropic Substances Act are applicable in the present case. The scale of this recovery speaks of a systematic and structured cartel in which the petitioner was neither a novice nor an occasional associate, but an active and deliberate participant whose role was indispensable to the cartel's functioning.

6. The evidence against the petitioner: That following points elaborate the evidence against the present petitioner in the present case:

a. Direct Recovery: That a total of 600 Kg of Poppy Husk was recovered under his conscious possession from on date 08.02.2024 from Truck bearing registration No. PB-13AL-8838 (14 tyre) and Swift car bearing registration no. HR-26CD- 4353 which was driven by the present petitioner.

b. Corroborated Nominations: That during investigation it was established that present petitioner used to buy poppy husk at Rs 2000/-per Kg from co accused Manjit Singh and Tarsem Singh and further sell it for 2800/- per kg to co accused. Paramjit Singh @Pamma. The present petitioner got nominated Paramjit Singh @ Pamma. Further the accused corroborated in their statements the pattern of organized