IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH

221 CRM-M-49760 of 2025 (O&M)

Date of Decision: 13.11.2025 Mani Singh ....Petitioner Versus State of Punjab ....Respondent CORAM: HON’BLE MS. JUSTICE RUPINDERJIT CHAHAL Present: Mr. Bhupinder Banga, Advocate for the petitioner.

Mr. Amit Shukla, DAG, Punjab for the respondent-State.

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RUPINDERJIT CHAHAL, J (ORAL)

1. Prayer in the instant petition filed under Section 483 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 is for grant of regular bail to the petitioner in case FIR No.69 dated 10.07.2025, registered under Section 22 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985, at Police Station Mehtiana, District Hoshiarpur.

2. Brief facts as per the prosecution case are that on 10.07.2025, SI Gurdeep Singh along with his fellow police officials was on patrolling duty and on suspicion, apprehended the petitioner, who was found in conscious possession of 70 intoxicant tablets. Hence the present FIR.

3. Learned counsel for the petitioner contends that the petitioner has been falsely implicated in the present case and he has no concern with the said offence. He further contends that mandatory provisions of the NDPS Act were not complied with at the time of alleged search and seizure. He has submitted that recovery of alleged contraband has already been effected from the petitioner and nothing more is to be recovered from him. He further contends that as per the prosecution version, 70 intoxicant tablets have been recovered from the petitioner but the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) report has not been received so far. He submits that the petitioner is in custody since 10.07.2025. At this stage, after arguing for sometime, learned counsel confines his prayer only for releasing the petitioner on interim bail till the receipt of FSL report. In this regard, learned counsel has placed reliance upon a dicta of a judgment of a Division Bench of this Court passed in ‘Inderjeet Singh @ Laddi and others v.

State of Punjab’, 2014 (3) RCR (Criminal) 953.

4. On the other hand, learned State counsel has filed the status report and the custody certificate which are taken on record. He has vehemently opposed the prayer for grant of bail by submitting that the offence committed by the petitioner is serious in nature and he was apprehended at the spot with the recovery of alleged contraband, for which FSL report is still awaited. He has further submitted that the petitioner is also involved in two other cases of similar nature meaning thereby he is a habitual offender.

5. Having heard learned counsel for the parties at length and after perusing the record of the case, it is evident that the petitioner is in custody for the last more than 04 months, investigation is underway, FSL report is still awaited which is crucial to determine the applicability of stringent provisions of NDPS Act including commercial quantity threshold and the bar under Section

37 of the NDPS Act. Keeping the petitioner in further detention till receiving the report of FSL would be violative of his rights under Article 21 of the Constitution of India.

6. A Division Bench of this Court in Inderjeet Singh @ Laddi and others v. State of Punjab, 2014 (3) RCR (Criminal) 953, has held as under:

"5. The learned Single Judge after considering the rival contentions found that the question whether such substances/drugs are covered under the NDPS Act or not, or can be dealt with only under the D&C Act has been arising frequently in many cases. The consequences would be completely different if the substances were held to be within the purview of the D&C Act instead of the NDPS Act. The matter was, therefore, referred to a larger bench. Meanwhile, the petitioner was ordered to be released on interim bail to the satisfaction of the learned trial Court/Chief Judicial Magistrate/Duty Magistrate, Ludhiana.

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53. Indeed the delay in testing the sample does result in prejudice to an alleged offender as till the results are availabl