Allowed

Atinder Pal Singh Alias Honey v. State of Punjab

Punjab & Haryana HC2 Jul 2026CRM-M/9054/2026

Case brief

AI extract

What is this about?

Regular bail sought in an NDPS case involving heroin supply allegations. With trial delayed, no witnesses examined despite 10 months' incarceration, and nothing showing flight risk or evidence tampering, bail granted; antecedents in other FIRs held not by themselves sufficient to refuse bail.

What did the court decide?

Petitioner released on regular bail on furnishing bail/surety bonds, subject to additional conditions including depositing passport, monthly affidavits, and not misusing liberty.

Atinder Pal Singh Alias Honey Vs State of Punjab — Narcotics (NDPS) | Punjab & Haryana HC (2026)

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IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH

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CRM-M-9054-2026

Date of decision : 02.07.2026 Date of uploading:02.07.2026

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Atinder Pal Singh Alias Honey ………….Petitioner

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Versus

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State of Punjab …….Respondent

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CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE SUMEET GOEL

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Present: Mr. Rakesh Kumar, Advocate for the petitioner.

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Mr. Hemant Aggarwal, DAG, Punjab.

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SUMEET GOEL, J. (ORAL)

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Present petition has been filed under Section 439 of Cr.P.C. for grant of regular bail to the petitioner in case bearing FIR No.159 dated 26.08.2025, registered for the offences punishable under Section 21(c), 25, 27-a, 29, 61/85 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 (for short ‘NDPS Act’) at Police Station Sadar, Amritsar.

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The case set up in the FIR in question (as set out in the present petition by the petitioner) is as follows:-

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“Chief Officer Police Station Sadar Amritsar Jai Hind. Today, ASI Kulwinderjit Singh 2950, ASI Surinder Kumar 1414, HC Kush Kumar 3095 Ct. Shubhpreet Sindh 3596 Ct. Navdeep Singh 3374, Ct Sukhwinder Singh 2269 and LCT Romanpreet Kaur 2562 along with a laptop printer by boarding in a government vehicle Bolero in search of bad elements were present in Khande Wala Chowk Majitha Road Amritsar in connection with the men who were present at Khande Wala Chowk Majitha Road Amritsar.

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The secret information came to ASI and informed that Atinder Pal Singh

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JATIN 2026.07.02 18:09 I attest to the accuracy and integrity of this document

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alias Honey son of Kulwant Singh resident of House No. 227 Street No. 01 near Kanaya Dhaba Indra Colony Majitha Road Amritsar brings a large quantity of heroin and illegal weapons and supplies them to various cities of Punjab along with his other associates. Who along with his associates has ordered a large quantity of heroin and weapons some time ago, which he has kept in his house for supply. If Atinder Pal Singh alias Honey is arrested by raiding now, then a large quantity of heroin and weapons can be recovered from him. Although this information is solid and reliable, and the offense comes under 21-29-61-85 NDPS Act, 25/54/59 A Act.

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Therefore for registration of the case, CT Navdeep Singh 3374 is being sent to the police station Sadar, and in regard to this information, a different report in a closed envelope u/s 42 N.D.P.S. Act is being sent by hand through CT Shubhpreet Singh 3596 to the higher officers. A case should be registered and the case number should be informed. Regarding this information, Mr. Yadwinder Singh PPS, ACP AIRPORT Amritsar City Sahib has been requested to reach the spot by informing him on his mobile phone no. 97800-03309. Special reports should be issued and sent to the service of the Ilaka Magistrate Sahib and the officers. I, ASI, have informed my fellow companions about the information of the chief and along with the police party, I am leaving By Road Atinder Pal Singh @ Honey son of Kulwant Singh, resident of House No. 227, Street No. 01, near Kanaya Dhaba, Indira Colony, Majitha Road, Amritsar. Area Khande Wala Chowk, Majitha Road, Amritsar At 07:30 P.M. Correct.Lajpat Rai ASI CIA Staff-2, Amritsar City Date 26-08-2025.”

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Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that the petitioner is in custody since 01.09.2025. Learned counsel for the petitioner has further submitted that the mandatory provisions of the NDPS Act have not been complied with, and thus, the prosecution case suffers from inherent defects. Learned counsel for the petitioner has iterated that the trial is delayed and the liability thereof cannot be fastened upon the petitioner. Learned counsel has further iterated that the petitioner has suffered incarceration for 10 months. Thus, regular bail is prayed for.

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Learned State counsel has opposed the present petition by

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arguing that the allegations raised against the petitioner are serious in nature and, thus, he does not deserve the concession of the regular bail. Learned State counsel has further submitted that the instant bail plea is restricted by the rigors of Section 37 of the NDPS Act, and thus, the same ought to be dismissed. Learned State counsel seeks to place on record custody certificate dated 01.07.2026 in Court, which is taken on record.

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I have heard counsel for the rival parties and have gone through the available records of the case.

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The petitioner was arrested on 01.09.2025, whereinafter, investigation was carried out and the challan qua the petitioner was presented on 20.02.2026. Total 17 prosecution witnesses have been cited but none has been examined till date. The rival contentions raised at Bar give rise to debatable issues which shall be ratiocinated upon during the course of trial. This Court does not deem it appropriate to delve deep into these rival contentions, at this stage, lest it may prejudice the trial. Nothing tangible has been brought forward to indicate the likelihood of the petitioner absconding from the process of justice or interfering with the prosecution evidence.

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6.1. The trial is indeed procrastinating and folly thereof cannot be saddled upon the petitioner. As per custody certificate dated 01.07.2026 filed by the learned State counsel, the petitioner has already suffered incarceration for a period of 10 months. In this view of the matter, the rigor imposed under Section 37 of the NDPS Act stands diluted in light of the Article 21 of the Constitution of India.

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6.2. This Court in a judgment titled as Kulwinder versus State of

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Punjab passed in CRM-M-64074-2024 (2025:PHHC:002695); after relying upon the ratio decidendi of the judgments of the Hon’ble Supreme Court in Hussainara Khatoon vs. Home Secy., State of Bihar (1980) 1 SCC 81; Abdul Rehman Antulay vs R.S. Nayak (1992) 1 SCC 225; Javed Gulam Nabi Shaikh vs. State of Maharashtra and another, 2024(3) RCR (Criminal) 494; Mohd Muslim @ Hussain vs. State (NCT of Delhi) reported as 2023 INSC 311; Criminal Appeal No.245/2020 dated 07.02.2020 titled as “Chitta Biswas Alias Subhas vs. The State of West Bengal”; “Nitish Adhikary @ Bapan vs. The State of West Bengal”, Special Leave to Appeal (Crl.) No.5530-2022 dated 22.08.2022 titled as “Mohammad Salman Hanif Shaikh vs. The State of Gujarat”; Criminal Appeal No.1169 of 2022 dated 05.08.2022 titled as Gopal Krishna Patra @ Gopalrusma vs. Union of India, and Ankur Chaudhary vs. State of Madhya Pradesh, 2024(4) RCR (Criminal) 172; has held, thus:

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“ 7.8. The right to a speedy and expeditious trial is not only a vital safeguard to prevent undue and oppressive incarceration; to mitigate anxiety and concern accompanying the accusation as well as to curtail any impairment in the ability of an accused to defend himself, but there is an overarching societal interest paving way for a speedy trial. This right has been repeatedly actuated in the recent past and the ratio decidendi of the above-referred to Supreme Court’s judgments have laid down a series of decisions opening up new vistas of fundamental rights. The concept of speedy trial is amalgamated into the Article 21 as an essential part of the fundamental right to life and liberty, guaranteed and preserved under our Constitution. The right to speedy trial begins with the actual restraint imposed at the time of the arrest of the accused and consequent incarceration which continues at all stages, namely, the stage of investigation, inquiry, trial, appeal and revision so that any possible prejudice that may result due to impermissible and avoidable delay since the time of the commission of the offence till the criminal proceedings consummate into a finality, could be averted. The speedy trial, early hearing and quick disposal are sine qua non of criminal jurisprudence. The overcrowded Courtdockets, the heavy volume of work and the resultant pressure on the prosecution and the Police, indubitably keeps the entire criminal jurisprudential mechanism under stress and strain. However, this cannot be an excuse for keeping the sword of Damocles hanging on the accused for an indefinite period of time. It does not serve any credit to the criminal justice system, rather it makes for a sad state of affairs. The guarantee of a speedy trial is intended to avoid oppression and

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prevent delay by imposing on the Court and the prosecution an obligation to proceed with the trial with a reasonable dispatch. The guarantee serves a threefold purpose. Firstly, it protects the accused against oppressive pre-trial imprisonment; secondly, it relieves the accused of the anxiety and public suspicion due to unresolved criminal charges and lastly, it protects against the risk that evidence will be lost or memories dimmed by the passage of time, thus, impairing the ability of the accused to defend himself. It goes without saying that the consequences of pre-trial detention are grave. Accused, presumed innocent, till proven otherwise, are subjected to psychological and physical deprivations of jail-life, usually under onerous conditions. Equally important, the burden of detention of such an accused frequently falls heavily on the innocent members of his family.

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There is yet another aspect of the matter which deserves consideration at this stage. The allegations in the present case relate to accused being involved in an FIR relating to commercial quantity of contraband under the NDPS Act, 1985. While considering a bail petition in a case involving commercial quantity, the Court has to keep in mind the rigours enumerated under Section 37 of NDPS Act, 1985 which mandates that Courts can grant bail to an accused only after hearing the public prosecutor and after having satisfied itself of twin conditions which are reasonable grounds for believing that the accused is not guilty of the offence charged/alleged and that, he is not likely to commit any offence while on bail. The stringent rigours of Section 37 of the NDPS Act, 1985 must be meticulously scrutinized against the backdrop of accused’s fundamental right to a speedy trial. The right to life and personal liberty cannot be rendered nugatory by unwarranted delays in the judicial process, particularly where such delay(s) is neither attributable to the accused nor justified at the end of the prosecution by cogent reasons. An individual cannot be kept behind bars for an inordinate period of time by taking refuge in rigours laid down in Section 37 of the NDPS Act, 1985. The legislature in its wisdom, in order to ensure speedy and timely disposal of the cases under the Act, has provided for the constitution of special Courts under Section 36-A of the Act. However, this Court cannot turn Nelson’s eye to the protracted delays and systematic inefficiency that frustrate this legislative purpose. A Court of law is duty-bound to ensure that it does not become complicit in violation of an individual’s fundamental rights, notwithstanding anything contained in a statute. While dealing with bail petition in a case governed by the rigours of Section 37 of the NDPS Act, 1985, the Court must strike a judicious balance between the legislative intent to curb the menace of drugs and the sacrosanct right of the accused to a fair and expeditious trial. Prolonged incarceration, without justifiable cause, risks transforming pre-trial detention into punitive imprisonment, an outcome antithetical to the principle of justice and equity.

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Ergo, the unequivocal inference is that where the trial has failed to conclude within a reasonable time, resulting in prolonged incarceration, it militates against the precious fundamental rights of life and liberty granted under the law and, as such, conditional liberty overriding the statutory embargo created under Section 37 of the NDPS Act, 1985 ought to be considered as per facts of a given case. In other words, grant of bail in a case pertaining to commercial quantity, on the ground of undue delay in trial, cannot be said to be fettered by Section 37 of the NDPS Act, 1985. ”

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6.3

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As per the said custody certificate, the petitioner is stated to be

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involved in other cases/FIR(s). Indubitably, the antecedents of a person are required to be accounted for while considering a regular bail petition preferred by him. However, this factum cannot be a ground sufficient by itself, to decline the concession of regular bail to the petitioner in the FIR in question when a case is made out for grant of regular bail qua the FIR in question by ratiocinating upon the facts/circumstances of the said FIR. Reliance in this regard can be placed upon the judgment of the Hon’ble Supreme Court in Maulana Mohd. Amir Rashadi v. State of U.P. and another, 2012 (1) RCR (Criminal) 586 ; a Division Bench judgment of the Hon’ble Calcutta High Court in case of Sridhar Das v. State, 1998 (2) RCR (Criminal) 477 & judgments of this Court in CRM-M No.38822-2022 titled as Akhilesh Singh v. State of Haryana, decided on 29.11.2021, and Balraj v. State of Haryana, 1998 (3) RCR (Criminal) 191.

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Suffice to say, further detention of the petitioner as an undertrial is not warranted in the facts and circumstances of the case.

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In view of above, the present petition is allowed. Petitioner is ordered to be released on regular bail on his furnishing bail/surety bonds to the satisfaction of the Ld. concerned trial Court/Duty Magistrate. However, in addition to conditions that may be imposed by the concerned trial Court/Duty Magistrate, the petitioner shall remain bound by the following conditions:

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(i) The petitioner shall not mis-use the liberty granted. (ii) The petitioner shall not tamper with any evidence, oral or documentary, during the trial. (iii) The petitioner shall not absent himself on any date before the trial.

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(iv) The petitioner shall not commit any offence while on

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bail.

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(v) The petitioner shall deposit his passport, if any, with the trial Court.

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(vi) The petitioner shall give his cellphone number to the Investigating Officer/SHO of concerned Police Station and shall not change his cell-phone number without prior permission of the trial Court/Illaqa Magistrate.

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(vii) The petitioner shall not in any manner try to delay the trial.

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(viii) The petitioner shall submit, on the first working day of every month, an affidavit, before the concerned trial Court, to the effect that he has not been involved in commission of any offence after being released on bail. In case the petitioner is found to be involved in any offence after his being enlarged on bail in the present FIR, on the basis of his affidavit or otherwise, the State is mandated to move, forthwith, for cancellation of his bail which plea, but of course, shall be ratiocinated upon merits thereof.

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In case of breach of any of the aforesaid conditions and those

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which may be imposed by concerned trial Court/Duty Magistrate as directed hereinabove or upon showing any other sufficient cause, the State/complainant shall be at liberty to move cancellation of bail of the petitioner.

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