High Court 'Appalled' To Note That Punjab Govt Remained Inert Despite A Prisoner Contacting People In Pakistan For Drugs
The Punjab & Haryana High Court has said in its judgment that it is appalled to notice that the Government of Punjab remained inert despite being aware that a person in custody was able to contact individuals in Pakistan to import narcotic and psychotropic substances.
A Single Bench of Justice Pankaj Jain observed, “This Court is appalled to notice that despite a serious issue being raised, the Government of Punjab has remained inert and even the affidavit could not be filed.”
Senior Advocate Atul Lakhanpal represented the petitioner, while DAG J.S.Arora appeared for the respondent.
The prosecution asserted that the accused had arranged heroin from his contacts based in Pakistan by contacting them on WhatsApp from some international number while sitting in jail. The intercepted incident involved the recovery of five packets, each containing 1 kilogram of heroin, totalling 5 kilograms.
The accused was also guilty of concealment of material facts of his earlier involvement in committing similar offences of dealing with narcotics (heroin specifically) and his involvement in committing other serious offences for carrying and possessing illegal firearms.
The High Court in its previous order had expressed shock and had directed the State to file an affidavit detailing actions taken against the Jail Authorities. The Court also instructed the Home Secretary to submit an affidavit outlining steps to prevent such incidents within jail premises.
However, the Government of Punjab remained inert and did not file the affidavit, as prescribed.
The High Court granted the Home Secretary, Govt. of Punjab another opportunity to comply with its order.
Cause Title: Baldev Singh v. State Of Punjab