Punjab and Haryana High Court news: Observing that substance abuse has emerged as a “global public health crisis” and that India is witnessing a worrying rise in drug addiction among the youth, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has refused regular bail to a man accused in a case involving the recovery of commercial quantity of opium under the NDPS Act.

Justice Sumeet Goel was hearing a petition filed by one Govind Singh seeking regular bail in a First Information Report (FIR) registered on December 3, 2025, in Haryana’s Fatehabad district for offences under Sections 18(b), 27A and 29 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act.

“The issue of substance abuse has emerged as a global public health crisis in the twenty-first century, affecting every country worldwide, as drug trafficking and addiction have become pervasive,” the court said on May 12, referring to recent Supreme Court observations and the UNODC World Drug Report, which recorded that around 316 million people worldwide used drugs in 2023.

The Punjab and Haryana High Court said offences involving organised drug trafficking cannot be viewed lightly, particularly when the allegations relate to the recovery of commercial quantities of contraband.

According to the prosecution, 2.706 kg of opium was allegedly recovered from the dashboard of a car in which the petitioner and a co-accused were travelling. The FIR was registered on December 3, 2025.

The petitioner argued before the Punjab and Haryana High Court that he had been in custody since the date of his arrest and that mandatory provisions of the NDPS Act had not been complied with properly during the investigation.

It was further contended that although the challan had already been filed, none of the 26 prosecution witnesses had been examined to date.

Counsel for the petitioner also relied upon the fact that co-accused Sita Ram had already been granted regular bail by the Punjab and Haryana High Court on March 13, 2026.

The defence submitted that nothing remained to be recovered from the petitioner, and sought parity with the co-accused.

Opposing the plea, the prosecution argued that the allegations were serious in nature and the petitioner failed to satisfy the stringent conditions imposed under Section 37 of the NDPS Act for the grant of bail in commercial quantity cases.

The state submitted that there was every likelihood of the petitioner absconding or interfering with prosecution evidence if released on bail. It also informed the Punjab and Haryana High Court that the petitioner was allegedly involved in other criminal cases.