Punjab and Haryana High Court allows regular bail to Sukhpal Khaira in NDPS case

Saurabh Malik

Chandigarh, January 4

The Punjab and Haryana High Court on Thursday allowed the regular bail to Sukhpal Singh Khaira.

An MLA and a former leader of opposition, Khaira was seeking bail after his role allegedly surfaced during a further investigation by a new special investigating team for violating the provisions of the NDPS Act.

The evidence collected against the petitioner is sketchy and inconclusive, Justice Anoop Chitkara made it clear.

The State’s stand before Justice Chitkara’s Bench in the matter was that the quantity of contraband involved in the case fell in the commercial category and it had collected sufficient evidence that prima facie pointed towards his dealings with the drugs trade and the international mafia. 

The Justice Chitkara Bench was told that the FIR, in which the police arrested Khaira on September 28, 2023, traced back to March 5, 2015. It was alleged that the investigator received secret and exceptionally reliable information that an international drug mafia was operating at the Pakistan border. A man, Harbans Singh, owning land on the India-Pakistan border was facilitating drug smuggling, taking advantage of the proximity to Pakistan.

After completing the procedural requirement, a substantial number of police officials raided the premises and recovered massive amounts of heroin, gold, and pistols from various accused. After completion of the investigation, the investigator filed a police report under Section 173(2) of the CrPC against 11 accused.

Since one of the accused, Anil Kumar, could not be traced, he was mentioned as a proclaimed offender.

The petitioner was neither named as an accused in the FIR, nor in the report under Section 173 of the CrPC.

“Given the background, the calls between the petitioner and his PSO, PA, and a handler from the UK; the disproportionate money which the Enforcement Directorate has already seized; absence of any recovery or any incriminating evidence during the petitioner’s custodial interrogation; and the evidentiary value of a disclosure statement made by a co-accused, whose pardon has been approved, and the absence of any other evidence connecting the petitioner, it can be inferred at this stage that for the purpose of satisfying the rigours of Section 37 of NDPS Act, the petitioner cannot be said to be prima facie guilty for any allegations….This court will put very stringent conditions in this order to ensure that the petitioner does not repeat the offence,” Justice Chitkara asserted.

Khaira was represented by senior advocate Vikram Chaudhri.