Nisha Ghosal
The Punjab and Haryana High Court had called for action against “big fish” i.e. drug suppliers, to root out drug trafficking.
The bench comprising Justice H S Madaan said that the “big fish” (suppliers) escaped the net, while only the bearers of the illegal goods were put behind the bars.
The High Court stated that it would not be possible to deal with the menace of drug trafficking without pulling up the suppliers.
The petitioner was seeking anticipatory bail against an FIR registered for an offence under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985.
Justice Madaan observed that the petitioner was known to be the supplier of the contraband retrieved from the accused.
The Court observed that the “big fishes” usually got away as their names are never mentioned in the FIR.
Also, the investigation agency did not have the chance to conduct the suppliers’ custodial investigation.
“Such suppliers came up with straight faces, stating that they have nothing to do with the recovery and their involvement in the crime may not be taken by not considering the statement of the co-accused actually found in possession of the contraband,” Justice Madaan stated.
The bench closed the petition and stated that custodial interrogation with the petitioner is necessary to find out the head of the supply chain.