209 IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH CWP-26793-2025 Date of decision: 01.12.2025 DR. AMIT BANSAL ...Petitioner(s)

VERSUS STATE OF PUNJAB AND OTHERS ...Respondent(s)

CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE JASGURPREET SINGH PURI Present:- Mr. R. S. Cheema, Senior Advocate with Ms. Tanu Bedi, Advocate, Mr. Aashutosh Jerath, Advocate and Mr. Satish Sharma, Advocate for the petitioner.

Mr. Jastej Singh, Addl. A.G., Punjab.

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JASGURPREET SINGH PURI, J. (Oral)

1. The present petition has been filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India seeking issuance of a writ in the nature of certiorari for quashing the order dated 13.01.2025 (Annexure P-1), whereby the respondents have suspended the licences of 22 drug de-addiction centres operated by the petitioner, with a further prayer to direct the respondents to grant an effective and proper opportunity of hearing to the petitioner before either the State Investigation Committee constituted vide order dated 14.01.2025 or any other authority as permitted under the law and also to restrain the respondents from taking any coercive action/steps against the petitioner until he is granted an effective opportunity of hearing.

2. Learned State counsel has filed reply by way of an affidavit of the Director, Health and Family Welfare, Punjab, dated 30.11.2025 in the Court today and the same is taken on record. While referring to Annexure R-3, which has been attached along with the aforesaid reply, he submitted on instructions from Dr. Sandeep Bhola, Additional Director and Ms. Gurmeet Kaur, Legal Assistant, who are present in the Court, that there are total 22 centres of the petitioner of which the licences were suspended, out of which, after conducting the inquiry, 12 licences have been directed to be restored. He further submitted that with regard to the remaining 10 centres, inquiry could not be completed because various documents have not been supplied by the petitioner and in the event of the petitioner supplying all the necessary documents pertaining to the aforesaid 10 centres, a final decision will be taken within a period of three weeks thereafter.

3. Learned Senior Counsel appearing on behalf of the petitioner submitted that the aforesaid 22 centres of which the licences were suspended can be categorized as follows:-

(i) Out of the 22 suspended centres, 12 centres have already been directed to be restored as per the aforesaid reply filed by the respondents in the Court today. Out of these 12 centres, 6 already possess valid licences, while the licences of the remaining 6 have expired and for that purpose, as per the aforesaid Annexure R-3, the petitioner is to apply afresh along with all the requisite documents. He submitted that the petitioner will furnish all the requisite documents including applications for renewal, fee etc., within a period of three weeks from today and prayed that a direction may be issued to the respondents to consider the renewal and decide within a period of three weeks thereafter.

(ii) With regard to the remaining 10 centres, the petitioner will furnish all the requisite documents as required by the respondents, within a period of three weeks from today and on his doing so, a further period of three weeks may be granted to the State to finalize the inquiry.

4. After hearing the learned counsels for the parties, this Court is of the considered view that the present petition can be disposed of and it is therefore disposed of with the following directions:-

(i) With regard to 22 centres as stated by the learned counsels for the parties, 12 have already been directed to be restored, out of which, 6 are still having valid licences and therefore, no order is required to be passed regarding these 6 centres. With regard to the remaining 6 centres, as per the learned Senior Counsel appearing on behalf of the petitioner, all the relevant documents including the applications for renewal, fee etc. will be filed within a period of three weeks from today. In the event