IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH Date of reserved: 28.10.2025.

Date of Pronouncement:13.11.2025.

Dr. Jatinder Malhotra ...Petitioner.

Versus Union of India and another ...Respondents.

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CORAM: HON'BLE MRS. JUSTICE SUKHVINDER KAUR .......

Argued by: Mr. Vikram Chaudhari, Sr. Advocate with Ms. Diya Bhagwan, Advocate and Mr. Parminder Singh Sekhon, Sr. Advocate with Mr. R.S. Gill, Advocate for the petitioner.

Mr. Sourabh Goel, Special Public Prosecutor with Ms. Samridhi Jain, Advocate Ms. Anju Bansal, Advocate Ms. Geetika Sharma, Advocate Ms. Deify Jindal, Advocate for respondent-NCB.

Mr. Adesh Pal Singh, AAG, Punjab.

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SUKHVINDER KAUR , J.

Present petition has been filed under Section 483 of BNSS for grant of regular bail to the petitioner in case Crime No.14 dated 01.05.2025, under Sections 8, 22, 29 of NDPS Act, registered at Police Station Narcotics Control Bureau, Amritsar Zonal Unit, District Amritsar.

As per prosecution case, on 01.05.2025, the officers of Narcotics Control Bureau, Amritsar Zonal Unit recovered 31900 tablets of Tramadol from Ballista Pharmaceuticals, SCF-6, Jawala Estate, Haripura Road, Amritsar. A crime case bearing NCB Crime No. 14 dated 01.05.2025, under Section 8, 22 of NDPS Act, 1985 was registered against Amit Bhandari. During following of said case NCB conducted raid at Corporate Medicos, Inside Corporate Hospital, Amritsar and recovered 2000 tablets of Tramadol and arrested Dr. Rajinder Rajan on 02.05.2025 and also arrested Dr. Jatinder Malhotra on 03.05.2025. Another team of NCB Amritsar raided at Life Kare Medicare Inside Life Kare Hospital, Nirankari Colony, Fatehgarh Churian Road, Amritsar on 02.05.2025 and recovered 472 Tablets of Tramadol but the accused person Parveen Kumar, who is proprietor of the said firm Life Kare Medicare went absconding from the raided place.

Learned counsel for the petitioner contended that the petitioner is proprietor of Chemist Shop situated inside the Corporate Hospital, Amritsar. He is renowned critical care specialist and Anesthesiologist and managing the affairs of 150 bedded super speciality Hospital and cardiac care center. He further contended that the petitioner produced all the licenses along with demand letter written by the petitioner along with the bill issued by the Ballista Pharmaceuticals dated 21.04.2025 and letter dated 27.04.2025 written by the hospital to the seller Ballista Pharmaceuticals regarding return of medicine. The NCB official when raided the hospital of the petitioner, they were adamant to arrest the petitioner and another Managing Director for keeping 2000 tablets of Tramadol (oral) or its salts in the formulations, without any valid licence. He urged that the hospital is duly registered with the Punjab Medical Council and the license is valid upto 31.12.2028. He further argued that Tricon-P (Tramadol Hydrochloride Tablets) were for providing treatment to the admitted patients (IPD of the hospital) and the same were never purchased by the petitioner for further sale to drug addicts. The said tablets are required by chronic kidney patients, as a pain killer tablet, these were never used as intoxicant. The petitioner wrote a letter dated 19.04.2025 for the manufacturer Ballista Pharmaceuticals for supplying 20 packs (strips) each containing 10 tablets and demand letter was for 200 tablets. Inadvertently, the manufacturer Ballista Pharmaceuticals mistakenly sent 2000 tablets vide bill dated 21.04.2025, which were delivered at the hospital of the petitioner. On noticing, said error that 2000 tablets had been wrongly delivered instead of 200 tablets the delivered box was never opened and not even a single tablet was used. Each tablet making Tricon-P has composition containing 325 mg of Paracetamol and 37.5 mg of Tramadol in each tablet and these tablets can not be used for the intoxication and are used for the pain suppression. He further contended that the petitioner had no mala fide intention and he has been falsely implicate