HC to hear Punjab drugs case on day-to-day basis

Saurabh Malik

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, October 14

The Punjab and Haryana High Court on Thursday made clear its intent to go through sealed cover reports in the Punjab drug menace case before the matter came up for resumed hearing after about 10 days.

The Bench also made it clear that the case would be heard on a day-to-day basis.

Taking up the case on the last working day before the Dussehra break, the Bench of Justice Augustine George Masih and Justice Ashok Kumar Verma observed it would examine the report during the vacation before taking up the case again on October 26.

State’s advocate general APS Deol, senior counsel Anupam Gupta and advocate Navkiran Singh — appearing for different parties — had earlier told the Bench that the issue of opening of sealed cover reports could be taken up on priority.

Deol’s argument was that taking up the issue of opening the reports on priority could enable the State’s prosecution agencies to proceed in accordance with the law.

The submissions came more than eight years after the High Court took suo motu cognisance of retired IPS officer Shashi Kant’s letter underscoring drug menace in Punjab and requesting judicial scrutiny in the matter.

The former top cop, during the resumed hearing of the matter, submitted that the opening of sealed cover reports was not relevant at present — a stand that failed to find favour with other counsel, who insisted it would be “a total tragedy”.

Appearing before the Bench, a senior counsel on Kant’s behalf submitted that there were several other issues that the Court was required to focus on. Expressing complete disagreement with Kant’s stand, senior advocate Anupam Gupta said: “There may be million other issues in this case, but the principal issue would be opening of sealed cover reports as it relates to the culpability of people in high places. If the sealed report is not opened, it would be a total tragedy. The dominant issue would be culpability of people in high political places.”

Strongly advocating the opening of sealed cover by the Bench, Gupta said the court may agree or disagree with the contents of the report, but it should be opened.

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