TMI Blog2015 (11) TMI 690X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ty or is hampered by influential and powerful people. Equally important is the evaluation of comparative efficacy and capability of the local police vis-à-vis the new agency, for securing timely, fair, equitable and unbiased investigation. Yet another relevant factor would be in regard to who has sought the transfer of ongoing investigation, namely, the suspects of the crime or its victim(s)? The majority of the cases where the Apex Court or High Courts have entrusted investigation to an independent agency are at the instance of the victims of crime who were at the receiving end due to the lackadaisical, offhand and callous approach of the investigating agency, or because police officials themselves were accused in the case, or when involvement of an influential person was causing an impediment to the fair investigation by the local police. The petitioner has relied upon (a) audio/video recordings; (b) mobile phone call details (c) the reports or complaints sent by Canadian Embassy; (d) the complaint sent by his friend Ravinder Grewal @ Robin; and (e) the reports of Truth Labs etc. etc. to substantiate his allegations. The veracity of these allegations or counter- allegations ca ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... mited approached Hon’ble High Court of Himachal Pradesh in CWP No.3496 of 2014, questioning the legality of searches and seizures conducted by Punjab Police in its premises on 15th & 16th November, 2013, on the ground that the due procedure and mandate of law was not followed and its action was “without any jurisdiction”. The High Court dismissed the writ petition vide order dated 20th August, 2014 being premature but only after observing that “in the given circumstances, prima facie, it appears that the writ petition filed before this Court is an afterthought, just to hamper the investigation, which has been conducted by the Punjab Police.” - So far as the common grounds taken by most of the petitioners are concerned, it may be seen that they have attempted to cause a dent and create doubt in the prosecution’s theory. They have made whole-hearted attempts to falsify the manner in which illicit drugs are reported to have been recovered. We do not deem it necessary to express any opinion in this regard for if the police version is found meritless by the Special Court, the prosecution case is bound to collapse. The petitioners in these cases thus want this Court to accept their or ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ates as well. Since the cases in hand have been given so much publicity as if illicit drugs would never surface in the State of Punjab, it is the duty of Police administration to ensure that every case is taken to its logical conclusion. Society has a fundamental human right to live free from drugs. The failure of the prosecution agency to lead credible evidence so as to bring the guilt home in every case would lead to most agonizing disappointment and frustrations in a peace loving citizen. The upper echelons in the Police thus need to remind themselves of their duties as the statesmen of law and order machinery. Since all the opportunities have not gone out of hand and necessary lacunae can still be filled in through supplementary reports, and false accusations (if any) can be dropped, we direct the State of Punjab, in the interest of complete justice, to constitute a Supervisory Team comprising the three IPS Officers who shall within three days of the receipt of copy of this order take stock of the situation and examine the charge-sheets already filed in each of the subject FIRs - Appeal disposed of. - CWP No.88 of 2014 (O&M), CRM-M-17238-2014 (O&M), CRM-M-12029-2013 (O&M), ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... e la cr me officials, ministers, bureaucrats, leaders of political parties, and other persons occupying the upper echelons of power - with the drug racketeers in the State of Punjab. (3) The petitioner has alleged that the ongoing investigation by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) under the supervision of the Senior Superintendent of Police, Patiala is intended to merely sensationalize the issue rather than reaching the truth through a free, fair, impartial and unprejudiced investigation. (4) The petitioner is an entrepreneur who claims that his commercial success has become an eye-sore for many vested interests. He was previously running a Transport Company in Amritsar but on account of serious disputes with a known politician and a former MLA of the area , the petitioner was falsely implicated in certain cases and faced a grave threat to his life. In 2002, he approached this Court in CRM-20558-M-2002 and obtained a direction to protect his life and liberty. A further direction was issued holding that in the event of a non-bailable offence being registered against the petitioner, a four days written notice shall be given to him. (5) The petitioner wound up the transpor ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... without any authority of law. To put it succinctly, the case of the petitioner is that the police officials from Amritsar, headed by Balkar Singh DSP, barged into his residence in village Ramana Chak during the intervening night of 13/14th November, 2013 and forced him to sit in a vehicle without proving any reason for doing so. The same has been duly recorded in the security CCTV camera installed at his residence (P45). He was then taken to police station Khilchian and from there towards Ludhiana where he was brought to the CIA staff. The police also sealed the petitioner s ancestral house in Ludhiana grabbed his 68 year old father and without any search warrant or authorization. The petitioner and his father were both taken to Police Station Sadar Rajpura and from there to CIA Staff, Patiala in the morning. The petitioner was then taken to Police Station, Banur where the SHO carried out certain proceedings and apparently arrested him at about 3.45 in the afternoon. His father was let off in the late evening of 14.11.2013 after being kept in illegal detention for about 24 hours. The petitioner s police remand was from 14.11.2013 till 19.11.2013 and subsequently intended till 23.11 ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... o his self-esteem. (13) The petitioner s private vehicles, including luxury cars as well as a Mahindra Bolero bearing registration No.PB-02-BL- 1000, have been misused in effecting the alleged recovery in the same FIR on 14.12.2013. The vehicle was meanwhile being misused by the police as is evident from the videography and photographs (P55 colly). (14) The petitioner in para 2.36 has also referred to the proceedings initiated by this Court suo motu in public interest to effectively address the menace of narco terrorism in Punjab. (15) The petitioner thus contends that (i) his arrest, searches and seizures are in gross violation of the mandatory procedure given under the Code of Criminal Procedure (Ref. Section 41-B, 41-D, 50, 50-A, 55-A, 56, 57, 93, 100, 165 etc.) (ii) there is a total violation of provisions of the NDPS Act, especially the procedure contemplated under Section 41 on the issue of warrant and authorization, Section 42 re. power of entry, search, seizure and arrest without warrant or authorization, Section 43 re. power of seizure and arrest in public place, Section 44 power of entry, search, seizure and arrest in offences relating to coco plant, opium poppy ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ded recovery of a huge quantity of heroin, poppy-husk, synthetic drugs and other contrabands. In the year 2013 alone 3,23,056 injections and 30,652,590 pills and capsules targeting the street drug peddling were seized. The Punjab Police is said to have made major strides in the hitherto untouched and uncharted territory of manufacturing and supply to international markets of synthetic drugs primarily Methamphetamine which is known as ICE in the illicit-drug world. The State Police has seized the precursor chemicals like Ephedrine and Pseudoephedrine, used to manufacture methamphetamine. These precursor chemicals and synthetic drugs were never seized before 2012-13. (20) From Para 10.1 onwards the affidavit unveils the busting of a large scale drug smuggling racket. It is claimed that on 03.03.2013 Anoop Singh Kahlon (NRI) and his associate Kulwinder Singh were arrested while travelling in an Innova car in which they were carrying 540 gms of heroin, ₹ 1 million in cash and 9054 US and Canadian dollars. FIR No.45 dated 03.03.2013 u/s 420, 467, 471, 201, 120-B IPC, 21/22/25/27-A/29/18/61/85 of NDPS Act, 25/54/59 Arms Act was registered at PS Fatehgarh Sahib. During the course ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ioner s name had meanwhile surfaced in the statement of one Tejinder Kumar s/o Vijay Kumar recorded on 03.11.2013 u/s 161 CrPC who stated that the petitioner was also a member of the gang. When Jagdish Bhola and Sarabjit Singh @ Sabha were confronted with the statement of Tejinder Kumar dated 03.11.2013, they too disclosed that Pseudoephedrine and Ephedrine were being supplied to them by the petitioner. (25) Based upon the above information, a raid was conducted and the petitioner was arrested on 13.11.2013 at about 10.00 pm from the Chahal Retreat Factory s residential area near Tara Wala Pul, Amritsar. The petitioner s brother (Paramjit Singh) was also wanted in connection with drug racket. The Amritsar Police Commissionerate was informed and the raid was conducted at the petitioner s residence along with officials from Amritsar Police. Paramjit Singh could not be arrested. When the petitioner was taken on remand upto 19.11.2013, he made a statement re. concealment of Pseudoephedrine and MM (ICE) in his Honda Accord car which was parked in the Chahal Retreat Factory. Search warrants were also obtained to effect search in both the industrial units. The police version further cl ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... 14. It is also averred that a chemical report from the Forensic Science Laboratory indicates the presence of Ephedrine and Pseudoephedrine in some of the parcels and that on comparison of the list of approved products to be manufactured by M/s Montek Bio-Pharma with the chemical report dated 19.03.2014 shows the presence of Metformine Hydrochloride and Pseudoephedrine Hydrochloride together in parcels No.3,4,5,6,7,8 9 even though this combination is not used in preparation of any medicine by the concerned pharmaceutical unit . It is also averred that there are discrepancies between the labeling of the boxes kept in the pharmaceutical unit and the actual content of the boxes which have been proved by the chemical report. The presence of methamphetamine (ICE) in parcel no.35 ha been confirmed by the chemical report. (27) It is claimed in the affidavit that the investigation has been conducted in a professional manner without any fear or favour and a huge quantity of synthetic drugs including 23 kg ICE 75.600 kg Ephedrine have been recovered. As regards the petitioner s allegations that the police has cooked up a story regarding the date of his arrest which they earlier admitted ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... 1.30 am, the petitioner along with his coaccused Gabbar Singh was seen coming in a white colour Ford Endeavor car bearing No.PB-10-CL-0014 which was stopped on suspicion and on a search 2kg heroin, 20kg intoxicant powder and Rs. 1 crore cash were recovered from them. (33) The petitioner alleges the above-stated story to be concocted and fabricated by many Senior Punjab Police Officials and Politicians so as to wreak vengeance and falsely embroil innocent persons like him. (34) The correct facts according to the petitioner are that the police officials headed by Inspector Ramandeep Singh and 2 more Inspectors (Mobile Nos. of all of them are disclosed) illegally and forcibly entered his residential premises No.A-5/8, Crosswind Apartment, Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar, Ludhiana on the night of 02.03.2013 and threatened his family a false drug case against them if they did not pay up ₹ 50 lacs. The call records of mobile Nos. of Inspectors Ramandeep Singh, Avtar Singh and Sukhvir Singh (P3 to P5) are relied upon to prove that they were present in the area where the petitioner resides in Ludhiana as opposed to near Gobindgarh Town of District Ludhiana where petitioner is alle ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... at 8.05 pm from Fatehgarh Sahib and reached Mukarba Chowk, Delhi and returned back to Fatehgarh Sahib at 6.00 am. Thereafter, they went to destination No.2 in the afternoon and this fact can be well established from the call details of their mobile nos. (P15 P16). It is claimed that instead of releasing the petitioner on receipt of Rs. 1 crore as per the agreed terms, the police officials again started demanding ₹ 50 lacs more and when the petitioner proclaimed his inability that the bribe money of ₹ 1 crore was shown to have been recovered from the petitioner and his co-accused. (34.7) The petitioner was allegedly involved in two more false cases i.e. FIR No.45 dated 03.03.2013 u/s 21/22/25A/27A/29/18/61/85 of NDPS Act, 25/54/59A of Arms Act, 420/467/468/471/201/120-B IPC Police Station Fatehgarh Sahib and FIR No.42 dated 22.03.2013 u/s 22/61/85 NDPS Act, Police Station Sirhind, District Fatehgarh Sahib out of which in FIR No.45, he has already been discharged. (35) The petitioner thus maintains that he has been falsely implicated through a well-knit conspiracy and the relevant call records of the raiding party coupled with the telephonic conversation held bet ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ach occasion he was medically examined in the Civil Hospital, Fatehgarh Sahib and no contra-complaint was ever made by him or his counsel when he was produced before the Judicial Magistrate. The allegations of 3rd degree treatment are stated to be an afterthought as his wife Smt. Amarjit Kaur Basra in her Crl.Misc.No.17799 of 2013 filed on 23.05.2013 did not make such allegations. The instant petition has been filed after 11 months of the recovery. It is further averred that the challan had already been presented in the Court on 31.05.2013 and after the framing of charges and the case had been fixed for prosecution evidence since 31.05.2014. (41) The story regarding taking of ₹ 1 crore from the petitioner and still planting a criminal case against him has been refuted, it being baseless. (42) As regards the petitioner s prayer for transferring the investigation to CBI, it is pointed out that earlier CWP No.9336 of 2014 was filed for quashing of the subject FIR. The said writ petition was disposed of by this Court on 02.07.2014 with a direction to the Narcotic Wing (Committee), Punjab Police headed by Mr. Ishwar Singh, IPS, Inspector General of Police to consider/determi ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ruth Labs (P61). (47) Anoop Singh Kahlon is also said to have sent a signed statement from Nabha jail (P62) suggesting the petitioner s false implication. The representations made by the petitioner s wife to various authorities have also been appended. (48) Ms. Harleen, a Consular in Canadian Embassy at Chandigarh was allegedly not allowed to meet the petitioner in jail on 18.04.2013 but the petitioner s wife met him and found several injury marks and abrasions on his body. This issue and the third degree torture given to the petitioner was raised by the Canadian Embassy as well (P64). (49) The petitioner claims that his father had withdrawn some amount from his account in February to buy a flat for his son in Ludhiana for which an agreement dated 28.02.2013 was executed but that amount had to be utilized towards the bribe money amounting to ₹ 1 crore. (50) The police version regarding the recovery effected from the petitioner is sought to be falsified on the plea that while in the FIR the vehicle shown is an Endeavor but in the application seeking petitioner s bail remand, Innova car has been shown. The doctor who examined the petitioner periodically was allege ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... s disclosed in the opening paragraph. (56) The State of Punjab has filed its reply by way of affidavit dated 22.05.2013 of DSP (HQ) Patiala-cum-Supervisory Officer of Special Investigation Team constituted for the investigation of FIR No.45 dated 03.03.2013. It is stated in the affidavit that the said FIR was registered and a huge quantity of heroin, two fake driving licences, 4 live cartridges of .32 bore, `894800/- as well as foreign currency were recovered from Anoop Singh Kahlon and his associate followed by further recoveries of heroin etc. as per their disclosure statements. During their interrogation, the two accused revealed the name of Jagdish Singh @ Bhola as the real kingpin. Thereafter, a raid was conducted at Jagdish s residence on 08.03.2013 and 10kg heroin besides some cash etc. were recovered. However, Jagdish Singh @ Bhola could not be arrested. The police received certain secret information that Jagdish Singh @ Bhola was in all likelihood staying at the residence of Sub Inspector (of Punjab Police) Sarbjit Singh at Kothi No.6, Shivalik Vihar Colony, Nayagaon, Chandigarh. Hence a raid was conducted on 26.03.2013 at the residence of SI Sarabjit Singh but neither ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ndent. Since the facts of both the FIRs are overlapping, a brief reference is being made from the first petition (CRM-M-43597-2013). (61) The petitioner has alleged that while he was posted as SHO, Police Station Dialpur, District Bathinda in the year 2006, he had displeased Sh. Sikander Singh Malooka who was then the District Jathedar of Akali Dal (Badal) and was found misusing the red-light atop his vehicle. Sh. Malooka is now Education Minister of Punjab Government and he being inimical started harassing the petitioner. It is alleged that under the influence of Sh. Malooka, the petitioner and his family members have been falsely implicated in FIR No.45 dated 03.03.2013 according to which, a raid was conducted at the petitioner s residence and 2.6 kg opium along with intoxicant powder is claimed to have been recovered when he had gone along with his family members to watch a movie. The police party also raided the house of petitioner s brother Inderjit Singh on 06.04.2013 and stopped him from harvesting the land measuring 100 acre in village Mehta, District Barnala. His brother s 35 cattle were let off and the Toyota Qualis vehicle No.PB-05K-7070 was also taken away. (62) ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... the State of Madhya Pradesh. (66) Respondent No.2 Sikander Singh Malooka has filed his affidavit dated 09.05.2014 refuting the petitioner s allegations. It is averred that the deponent has no connection or knowledge at all with any kind of action taken against the petitioner nor the deponent has interfered in the same . As regards the alleged incident of use of red-light, it is explained that the Driver of the deponent was challaned by one ASI Mukhtiar Singh for using redlight but that allegation was totally false and the driver was acquitted by the Judicial Magistrate First Class, Phul. (6) CRM-M-29757-2013 (Baljit Singh vs. State of Punjab) (67) This petition u/s 482 CrPC also seeks entrustment of the case FIR No.69 dated 16.04.2013 registered at Police Station Fatehgarh Sahib u/s 21/61/85 of NDPS Act, 420/465/467/468/471 IPC to the Central Bureau of Investigation. (68) The petitioner is the father of Davinder Singh @ Happy. As per the allegations contained in the FIR, the petitioner s son was found in possession of 8.50 kg of contraband while traveling in Toyota Qualis car bearing registration No.PB- 05K-7070. The police team was allegedly present at the ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... -26436-2014 (Satinder Dhama @ Satender vs. State of Punjab) (70) These two petitions are by Satinder Dhama r/o 1669, Sector 15 Panchkula who is presently lodged in Central Jail, Patiala. Vide the first petition, he seeks an independent probe, preferably by CBI, in the case FIR No.45 dated 03.03.2013, u/s 420/467/468/471 IPC, 21/61/85 of NDPS Act and 25/54/59 of Arms Act, Police Station Fatehgarh Sahib; (ii) FIR No.56 dated 15.05.2013 u/s 379/411/473/120-B and 21/22/61/85 of NDPS Act, 1985, Police Station Banur; (iii) FIR No.50 dated 03.04.2013 u/s 18/21/22/61/85 of NDPS Act, 25/54/59 of Arms Act, Police Station Urban Estate Patiala; (iv) FIR No.292 dated 26.10.2013 u/s 307/34 IPC, 25/54/59 of Arms Act and 21/22/61/85 of NDPS Act, Police Station Civil Lines, Patiala. In the second petition (CRM-M- 26436-2014), a similar prayer in respect of FIR No.56 dated 15.05.2013 only has been made. Since the first petition (CRM-M- 17971-2014) contains comprehensive pleadings, the facts are being extracted therefrom. (71) In para 3 to 6 of the petition, the petitioner has referred to registration of cases against SI Sarabjit Singh, his brother Inderjit Singh and the petitions filed by ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... r HR-26AJ-1019 he had gone to a hotel in Sector 35 Chandigarh to meet one of his friends. He and his friend were picked up from there by the Punjab Police headed by Inspector Ramandeep Singh and taken to Police Station Banur in Ramandeep Singh s Scorpio. Petitioner s Verna car was also taken to Police Station Banur. The petitioner was then shown to be arrested in FIR No.56 dated 15.05.2013 and some recoveries have been effected from his car when it was stopped at a Naka in Banur. (77) The petitioner s father made efforts (including by way of a petition in this Court) to secure CCTV footage of the area of the Hotel in Sector 35, Chandigarh from where the petitioner was arrested. Similarly, permission to receive CCTV footage of National Highway No.1 at Toll Plaza to see whether Verna Car HR 26AJ-1019 passed through it was also applied for, besides other information under the RTI. The petitioner s brother Vijay Dhama received a call on 17.05.2013 from Desh Raj with whom the petitioner had parked Skoda Laura car bearing registration No.CH-04J-6006. Des Raj told petitioner s brother that the Punjab Police was asking him to hand over the petitioner s above named car. It was the p ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... f Anoop Singh Kahlon (Canadian citizen) and his associate Kulwinder Singh is stated. As regards the petitioner, it is averred that during the intensive interrogation of Anoop Singh Kahlon, Kulwinder Singh @ Rocky, Kulwant Singh @ Kanti, particulars of some active gang members surfaced. A raid was conducted on the house of petitioner on 31.03.2013 and from the Innova car bearing registration No.PB-11-AY-7743 parked in his house, 75kg Pseudoephedrine and 3 kg methamphetamine were recovered. It is stated that the matter was thoroughly investigated and a report u/s 173 CrPC has already been presented in the Court of Special Judge, Fatehgarh Sahib. (84) The reply/affidavit further discloses that on 15.05.2013 some secret information was received against the petitioner, Baljinder @ Sonu and their gang members as they were moving in a stolen car with a fake registration number. The informer divulged that they habitually carried Pseudoephedrine and other intoxicating materials. The petitioner along with Baljinder @ Sonu was apprehended when they were coming from the Amritsar side and going towards Delhi via Kharar in a car bearing forged and fabricated registration No.HR-26-AJ-1019. On ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... itical assignments in Shiromani Akali Dal Party and was also elected as Member of Parliament in the year 2002. His son Boney Ajnala was elected as MLA and became Chief Parliamentary Secretary in the year 2012. The supporters of Shiromani Akali Dal (Badal) allegedly got divided in two groups in the matter of election of Ajnala Cooperative Sugar Mill held in November, 2013 as the young brigade wanted and succeeded in ousting Ajnala supporters. It is claimed that due to political friction between the two groups, Dr. Rattan Singh Ajnala had to pay a price as he was not given a party ticket from Khadoor Sahib Parliamentary constituency though he was a sitting Member of Parliament. (88) The petitioner has averred that the subject-FIR was registered on 15.05.2013 and challan was presented on 24.08.2013 against three accused only. There was no name mentioned in Column No.2 also. The petitioner s name did not figure anywhere till the supplementary challan dated 11.01.2014 was filed stating that one of the co-accused had revealed on 13.11.2013 the involvement of several persons including petitioner. In his statement the co-accused is said to have disclosed that the petitioner used to prov ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... rights guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution, the petitioner has also averred that mere presentation of challan or framing of charges per se does not cause any impediment against entrustment of the investigation to CBI. (92) The respondents stance against the petitioner finds mention in their reply/affidavit dated 20.11.2014 filed by the Deputy Superintendent of Police, Rajpura the bail application of petitioner bearing CRM-M-10857-2014. The reply/affidavit firstly gives brief details as to how the racket was busted on 03.03.2013 and the accused found to be actively involved in one or the other form were nabbed. As regards the petitioner, it is claimed that Inspector Davinder Kumar along with the police party was present on 14.11.2013 in connection with the investigation of case FIR No.45 dated 03.03.2013 when he received a call from SSP, Patiala that the petitioner was present near Gagan Chowk, Rajpura. His description was also disclosed. On the basis of this information, the petitioner was arrested and during the search 2kg Pseudoephedrine was recovered from his bag. His statements were recorded in which he disclosed that he was one of the group members of drug rac ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... urther direction to restrain respondent No.5 Senior Superintendent of Police, Patiala from carrying out further investigation in the above-mentioned cases, is also sought. It is also claimed that the petitioner s son while in custody of CIA staff named three Cabinet Ministers of Punjab but respondent No.5 and other Police authorities tortured him to an extent that he does not open his mouth against them. (95) The petitioner s case is that his son Jagdish Singh @ Bhola has been an International Athelete who was conferred the most prestigious Arjuna Award in wrestling in the year 1998 and the Maharaja Ranjit Singh Award in the year 2006 for distinguished performance in the field of wrestling. Much before that, he was awarded Bharat Kesri in the year 1992. He is stated to be Rustum-e-Hind as also Hind Kesri from 1992 onwards. In the Asian Games also, he held second position. Thus petitioner s son has been a distinguished sportsperson. (96) The petitioner alleges that Parminder Singh Cheema, a DSP in Punjab police was also a Gold Medalist in wrestling but he having been defeated by the petitioner s son, hatched a conspiracy to involve Jagdish Singh @ Bhola in false cases unde ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... re case FIR No.42 dated 22.03.2013 registered at Police Station, Sirhind in which no recovery was effected from him. Similarly, the petitioner s son has been falsely implicated in FIR No.69 dated 08.03.2013 registered at Police Station Mandi Gobindgarh and in that case also no recovery has been effected from him. Neither Jagdish Singh @ Bhola is named in the FIR nor any other accused has named him. He has still been embroiled on the hearsay statement of a person who is not even made a co-accused. Likewise FIR No.50 dated 03.04.2013 has been registered against the petitioner s son at Police Station Urban Estate Patiala u/s 18/21/22 of NDPS Act and Section 25 of the Arms Act. (101) The petitioner thus alleges that the very modus operandi of Punjab Police behind involving his son in the abovenamed FIRs is to harass and humiliate him for he has sought compensation of ₹ 20 lacs through a writ petition. (102) The petitioner further alleges that his son has been given third degree torture while in police custody and when he was produced before the Judicial Magistrate at Mohali on 06.01.2014, Jagdish Singh @ Bhola named a Cabinet Minister of Punjab to be directly involved in th ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... (x) FIR No.56 dated 15.05.2013 u/s 21/22/61/85 of NDPS Act, 379, 411 IPC, 25 of Arms Act, PS Banur, District Patiala; (xi) FIR No.50 of 2013 u/s 21,22/61/85 of NDPS Act, 25 of Arms Act, PS Urban Estate, Patiala (106) Jagdish Singh @ Bhola was arrested on 11.11.2013. (107) As regards the statement made by the petitioner s son before the media naming the Minister, the reply/affidavit maintains that during interrogation he never revealed names of any bigwigs or Minister and his belated statement before the Press on 07.01.2014 is an afterthought, given after due deliberations only to shift the burden and to save his own skin. (108) The State of Punjab has placed on record an additional affidavit along with documents (R1 to R15). It is pointed out this Court has initiated suo motu proceedings in public interest by way of CWP No.20359 of 2013 pursuant to an application moved by Sh. Shashi Kant, Ex.DGP (Jails), Punjab in which one of the issues pertains to lack of coordination amongst various stakeholders CBI, Customs, DRI, NCB and Punjab Police etc. for controlling narco terrorism in the State. The Central Bureau of Investigation in its reply/affidavit filed in the PIL h ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... is already seized of the matter in the Public Interest Litigation with an endeavour to identify those causes and their solutions. WHAT IS THE CHEMISTRY BEHIND NARCOTIC DRUGS? (112) The prosecution has projected that most of the petitioners constitute a ring of drug racketeers and each one of them has a role to play. The seeds of illicit drugs are said to be traceable in the premises of drugs manufacturers who have misused the licences obtained under Section 9-A of the NDPS Act notwithstanding the stringent conditions imposed on them. They have been allegedly siphoning the two well-known pre-cursors of Methamphetamine (ICE) i.e. Pseudoephedrine and Ephedrine in a clandestine manner. The licit supply of these two controlled substances to drug manufacturers at a concessional rate unfortunately lands up for illicit manufacturing of narcotics. (113) The drug lords have engaged foreign-experts, some of them from Mexico, who convert these controlled substances into synthetic drugs. A team of bulk suppliers and then their conduits supply these drugs for which vehicles with VIP numbers are used. The thirst for easy and quick money lures the drug manufacturers to violate the m ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... al from the petitioner s residence in Amritsar as may be seen in the CCTV camera and thus the so-called recovery is totally fake; (iv) there is a clear tampering, interpolation and editing etc. in the official documents attached with the challan like Arrest Memo, Memo of Personal Search and of Disclosure Statement so as to cover up the petitioner s arrest on 13.11.2013; (v) the recording in CCTV camera clearly establishes presence of Amritsar police and not the police of district Patiala who has falsely implicated the petitioner; (vi) the drug authorities of Himachal Pradesh were not associated due to alleged paucity of time which is totally false as the search warrant was taken on 14.11.2013 whereas the search was conducted on 16.11.2013; (vii) the drug authorities have certified that the petitioner s unit had a valid licence and it could maintain unlimited stocks and if at all there was any violation of the conditions of licence, whether by diversion or defalcation, action could be taken by the licensing authority alone and not the Punjab Police; (viii) the so-called recoveries have neither been witnessed by the Drug Authorities of Himachal Pradesh nor the Police o ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... s brother-in-law from Canada and investigating Officer (Dalbir Singh Grewal) display the petitioner s false implication; (vii) the reports from Truth Labs on the genuineness of audio/video recordings made by the petitioner s family on different occasions are indeed decisive and ought to be probed by an independent agency; (viii) the accusation made by the petitioner s friend Ravinder Grewal @ Robin who is a Canadian citizen after he returned Canada, also corroborates the petitioner s version. OTHER COMMON GROUNDS TAKEN BY ALL THE PETITIONERS (118) Other petitioners have also tried to make out a case for independent investigation of the cases involving them broadly on the following grounds:- (i) The pharmaceutical units have got valid licences issued by competent authorities like the State Drug Controller, Narcotic Control Bureau and Industries Department etc. They have not been found lacking in compliance of statutory conditions in running the manufacturing units; (ii) Fake recoveries mostly from vehicles parked in or outside the factory premises have been planted. No search or seizure operation was carried out with advance intimation to the licensing authoriti ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ders expressed their concern against the narco-terrorism. The Punjab Police having been sensitized to unearth the drug mafia, successfully busted the racket on 03.03.2013 when Anoop Singh Kahlon (NRI) along with his associate was arrested and a huge haul of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances was recovered. Their interrogation revealed that there is a well-knit drug mafia operating throughout the country but mostly led by persons of Punjab origin. Jagdish Singh @ Bhola emerged out their kingpin who had a large network beyond the boundaries of Punjab State i.e. Goa, Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana etc. The petitioners are claimed to be the active members of such drug mafia. While some of them are involved in siphoning of the precursor to manufacture ICE, a few others are experts in such manufacturing. Their other gang members are the traders who operate through a well organized sector in which even police officers/officials are involved. (121) Reiterating the stand taken by the police authorities in their reply/affidavits filed in Jagjit Singh Chahal, Manpreet Singh @ Mani Gill or other connected cases. They further argued that:- (i) the quantity of narcotic drugs or p ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... (vii) Likewise the Department of Drugs Control, Tamil Nadu vide their letter dated 29.09.2014 informed the Drug Controller in Himachal Pradesh that 6 invoices pertaining to M/s Elixia Life Sciences, Coimbatore and M/s Orsim Pharma, Coimbatore were found to be not genuine; (viii) Further, the State Drugs Controller, Himachal Pradesh has as late as on 01.08.2015 informed the Senior Superintendent of Police, Patiala that the product licenses of Pseudoephedrine and Ephedrine formulations of both the manufacturing units of Jagjit Singh Chahal were suspended vide two separate orders dated 04.12.2013 and those licenses have not been restored as the cases are under investigation with the Drug Inspector, Baddi; (ix) The allegations was of causing physical torture are false as Manpreet Singh @ Mani Gill was periodically examined by Government Medical Officers who, vide medical reports dated 09.03.2013, 12.03.2013, 14.03.2013, 16.03.2013 and 18.03.2013, specifically reported that no injury mark, was found on his person at the time of such examination and these reports were duly produced before the Judicial Magistrate. All these medical reports are duly signed by the petitioner as well ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... igation in Canada failed to produce sufficient evidence to support criminal charges. On a positive note however, investigators are certain this organized criminal group (family) is responsible for the importation of the Ketamine on the OBARIL. The degree of sophistication the group has displayed in distancing individuals from the criminal activity to evade arrest is indicative of a long history of criminal activity. A particular concern is the strong suspicion they are laundering the proceeds of their criminal activities through the Foreign Exchanges they control ; (xiii) The Central Bureau of Investigation has in its reply/affidavit dated 27.01.2014 filed in PIL shown its reluctance to take over investigation of NDPS cases for want of technical know-how or expertise in dealing with the crime of Narcotics/drugs and recommended that the Narcotics Control Bureau which possesses such requisite experience and expertise would be the appropriate Agency for investigation of these cases; (xiv) The Narcotics Control Bureau in its reply/affidavit dated 03.03.2014 has discussed that it lacks manpower for taking over the investigation of all drug related cases. This Court vide order dat ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... tc.; (xxiii) The petitioner-Jagjit Singh Chahal is making all out efforts to stall the ongoing trial so as to evade the consequences even when most of his contentions have been rejected Hon ble the Himachal Pradesh High Court in CWP No.3496 of 2014 (MBP Pharmaceuticals P.Ltd. vs. State of Himachal Pradesh) dismissed on 20.08.2014. (122) The power of a High Court to direct CBI or any other independent agency to investigate a cognisabale offence without the consent of the State Government has been authoritatively pronounced by the Constitution Bench in State of West Bengal Ors. vs. The Committee for Protection of Democratic Rights West Bengals Ors., (2010) 3 SCC 571, of course with a caveat that such order is not to be passed as a matter of routine or merely because a party has levelled some allegation against the local police. The extraordinary powers must be exercised sparingly, cautiously and in exceptional situations where it becomes necessary to provide credibility and instill confidence in investigations or where the incident may have national and international ramifications or where such an order may be necessary for doing complete justice and enforcing the fundament ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... d in requisite manner - Public Prosecutor rather acted as defence counsel. 5. Large number of PWs not examined for one reason or the other - Even injured witness not examined. 6. Some of the PWs examined who was relation of witness. (128) Some of the decisions cited on behalf of petitioners to strengthen their other contentions, include Babubhai Jamnadas Patel vs. State of Gujarat Ors, (2009) 9 SCC 610 where the ongoing investigation was tardy and slow and the decision of the High Court to keep watch on the investigation to prevent miscarriage of justice and repeatedly intervene and pass orders to ensure that the investigation was conducted diligently was upheld. (129) Suresh Kumar v. Union of India Ors., 2015(3) R.C.R.(Criminal) 340 was a case where the prosecution version in NDPS case was that the recovery of heroin was effected near the bus stand whereas the contention of the accused was that police officers were not present at the bus stand at the relevant time and were at some other location. The application of the accused to summon call records of mobile telephone of the concerned police officers to establish their location was accepted. (130) Lalita Kumari v. ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... by the police; (iii) similarly, there were allegations of uncoordinated investigation due to corruption etc. and (iv) abetment of suicide of her husband by politicians, bureaucrats and influential businessmen. As the petitioner did not allege any actual harassment by or mala fide/bias by State investigation there were no grounds for transferring investigation to CBI since the grounds were purely based upon apprehension. Thus, it was held that the same were not cogent reasons to interfere with the ongoing investigation. (135) It would be equally apt to cite Sudipta Lenka vs. State of Odisha Ors., (2014) 11 SCC 527 where the Supreme Court declined the prayer to transfer the investigation to CBI or any other specialized agency in a case registered under Section 302/449/450/120-B IPC laying down as follows:- 9. The position has also been succinctly summed up in Disha (supra) to which one of us (the learned Chief Justice) was a party by holding that transfer of the investigation to the Central Bureau of Investigation or any other specialised agency, notwithstanding the filing of the chargesheet, would be justified only when the Court is satisfied that on account of the accused ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... e. ALLEGATIONS AGAINST THE LOCAL POLICE (138) Adverting to the allegations leveled by the petitioners against the local police, it may be seen that the senior-most officer accused of falsely implicating one of them (Manpreet Singh @ Mani Gill) is statedly in the rank of Senior Superintendent of Police . He has neither been named nor impleaded as a party respondent. The other police officers facing accusations are one DSP, three Inspectors and some Sub Inspectors, who are incidentally posted as SHOs of the police stations where subject FIRs have been registered and/or are members of Special Investigating Team. The Police cadre of Punjab State comprises more than 150 IPS Officers out of whom at least 65 Officers are in the ranks of DGP, ADGPs and IGPs etc. It would be too unfair, and unjustified to presume that none of these senior officers is above-board or that each one has succumbed to some hidden pressure which the petitioners have miserably failed to disclose. (139) Most of the petitioners are resourceful persons. Many of them are affluent entrepreneurs who have flourishing businesses, landed properties and hold different important positions. There is no established ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... g the course of trial that such person not being the accused has committed any offence and is liable to be tried together with the accused. The recourse suggested above has got the seal of approval in Sasi Thomas case (supra). Moreover, the question of partial investigation is open to debate in the ongoing public interest litigation. Any deliberate or inadvertent lacuna left by the investigating agency can be effectively remedied through appropriate directions, if need be. (143) This would take us to the next question i.e. whether the petitioners have been implicated solely to coerce them to bribe the police authorities. Manpreet Singh @ Mani Gill has accused the police of his false implication as a quid pro quo to demand gratification of ₹ 50 lacs which was then increased to ₹ 1 crore. The said allegation has to be viewed in the light of the police version contained in the FIR that the amount of ₹ 1 crore was recovered from the petitioner and his co-accused along with a huge quantity of contraband. Both these versions are under judicial scrutiny of the Special Judge where the police has already presented the charge-sheet. The petitioner has relied upon (a) aud ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... upon this issue further, it is useful to notice the legislative scheme and Object behind the NDPS Act, which has been enacted to make stringent provisions for the control and regulation of operations relating to narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances and to provide sufficiently deterrent penalties to meet the challenges of well organized gangs of drug traffickers. Also, the repealed laws did not confer the power of investigation of the offences on the officers of Central Enforcement agencies. It was realised that the new drugs of addiction known as Psychotropic substances have appeared on the scene and pose a serious threat to the health and welfare of the people. (148) As per Section 2(viid) of the Act, the controlled substances are those as notified by the Central Government in the Official Gazette on receipt of the information. Section 2(viiia) defines illicit traffic in relation to narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances and the activities like production, manufacture, possession, sale, purchase, transportation etc. are included therein. The expressions narcotic drug , opium derivative and psychotropic substance [clause (xiv), (xvi) and (xxiii) of Section 2 r ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... re whereunder the power of entry, search, seizure, arrest, confiscation, attachment as well as of power to stop and search conveyance when there is a reason to suspect that such conveyance is about to be used for the transport of any narcotic drug or psychotropic substance or controlled substance, have been conferred on the authorized officer(s). Chapter VA of the Act prescribes the procedure to forfeit the properties derived from or used in illicit traffic by a person. (153) The Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Rules, 1985 have been formulated in exercise of power under Section 9 of the Act. Rule 37 of these Rules prohibits the manufacturing of the drugs notified under sub-clause (b) of clause (xi) of Section 2 of the Act save in accordance with the conditions of a licence granted by the Prescribed Authority of Central Government. Rule 46 requires the licensee to maintain true accounts of all transactions including the accounts of materials used for the manufacture of the drug, the quantities manufactured, sold or otherwise disposed of and furnish returns in such forms and in such manner as may be specified . Rule 64 imposes a categoric ban on the manufacturing, poss ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... nd the act would be liable to be punished with rigorous imprisonment for a term which may extend upto 10 years with fine of `1 lac under Section 25-A of the Act. (158) To say it differently, the misuse of a controlled substance whether Ephedrine or Pseudoephedrine or their salts, is not a mere violation of the conditions of licence for which action would be taken by the State Drug Controller or the Narcotics Control Bureau. Such violation also constitutes an independent offence under the NDPS Act and is severely punishable. (159) The plea taken by the manufacturers/proprietors of pharmaceutical units that the alleged violation of the terms and conditions of their licences would not clothe the police to slap a case under the NDPS Act thus carries no weight and deserves to be rejected. (160) Similarly, the objection against the jurisdictional competence of Punjab Police in registering cases against proprietors of pharmaceutical units located in State of Himachal Pradesh prima facie cannot be entertained at this stage. If the trails of the crime originating from those units were traced out in the Punjab territory also, it would be totally farcical to contend that Punjab Pol ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... dated 20th August, 2014 being premature but only after observing that in the given circumstances, prima facie, it appears that the writ petition filed before this Court is an afterthought, just to hamper the investigation, which has been conducted by the Punjab Police. (165) So far as the common grounds taken by most of the petitioners are concerned, it may be seen that they have attempted to cause a dent and create doubt in the prosecution s theory. They have made whole-hearted attempts to falsify the manner in which illicit drugs are reported to have been recovered. We do not deem it necessary to express any opinion in this regard for if the police version is found meritless by the Special Court, the prosecution case is bound to collapse. (166) The petitioners in these cases thus want this Court to accept their oral or documentary evidence and give a verdict of their innocence after discarding the police version. Alternatively, they have suggested that the Court direct the CBI or any other independent agency to appreciate the merits of their evidence and proof of varied nature and discharge them from the criminal proceedings. We are afraid such an exercise certainly does ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... the petitioners have failed to make out a case for fresh or re-investigation by an independent agency, nonetheless it stands fairly exposed that (i) The investigation carried out by the Punjab Police lacks scientific methodology or modern techniques necessary to nail the professional criminals like drug lords; (ii) There has been an apparent lack of commitment, deliberate or otherwise, in securing impeachable or impeccable evidence of independent nature; (iii) There are some loopholes and gaps, whether left deliberately or otherwise; (iv) There appears to be an indifferent and lackluster attitude on the part of senior police officers who might be comparatively well-versed with the science of narcotic drugs or psychotropic substances etc.; (v) There is an unexplained silence on the efforts, if any, made after the year 2013-14, to nab the organized drug traffickeers; (vi) No evaluation of legal, logical and long-lasting linkage between one case to another by way of credible or admissible evidence appears to have been made. (172) It is indisputable that mere boasting of recovery or unearthing the drug-business worth rupees thousands crore or branding one or the ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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