HC skeptical of state's selective action in graft, drug case

Judicial Crackdown

Posted by AI on 2025-09-09 00:59:34 | Last Updated by AI on 2025-09-09 08:24:00

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The Punjab and Haryana High Court has criticized the state's selective investigation into a raid on a house where 10kg of ganja was recovered and a police official was allegedly caught accepting a bribe.

The court has referred the case to the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) Chandigarh Zonal Unit for further investigation.

Justice Rajbir Singh Bansal expressed skepticism over the state's decision to only charge the police official with a departmental penalty of increment stoppage for his involvement in the alleged crime.

The case stems from a complaint by a woman who claimed that a petitioner and his team found 10kg of ganja in her home and demanded Rs 20 lakh to settle the case.

The complainant claimed that the officer agreed to settle the case for Rs 16 lakh, of which Rs 13 lakh was paid to the officer through a mediator.

However, when the complainant tried to expose the officer, he never returned to collect the remaining Rs 3 lakh.

The court flagged that the complainant and her husband were not booked under the NDPS Act despite their admission of possessing contraband, while the officer was not charged with corruption.

It also raised doubts about the investigation's integrity, stating that if the officer was innocent and neither the ganja nor the money was recovered, he was "unnecessarily embarrassed by the disgruntled family."

The court set aside the penalty and remanded the matter to the appellate authority for reconsideration.

It also ordered the NCB to conduct an independent examination of the recovery of ganja and the bribe transaction.

This bold move by the high court highlights the selective application of justice in graft and drug cases and the need for stricter investigation.

Go!