Drug Overdose Case: Punjab & Haryana High Court Says Risk Higher With Pure Or Unadulterated Drugs, Grants Bail To Accused

The Punjab and Haryana High Court while granting bail to a man booked after alleged drug overdose death of a youth, observed that pure drugs can often be more lethal than adulterated substances.

Perusing the pleadings, the Court found that the cause of death was drug overdose and at this stage it could not be ascertained whether the accused-petitioner forcibly administered an overdose of the drug to the deceased or if the deceased had taken it on his own.

"The possibility that the deceased consumed an unadulterated or less adulterated drug can also not be ruled out. It is a ground reality that the drugs are often adulterated, and mostly the margin is the adulteration itself. However, sometimes a person might get a pure or mildly adulterated drug and consume the amount to which the addict is dependent, and on consuming more than the tolerance quantity, the possibility of such a person having an adverse influence on their health would always be there," it added.

The FIR was registered under Sections 304, 201 and 34 of the IPC after a complaint was received on March 10, 2023, regarding a body lying in Sangrur Civil Hospital. During the inquiry, the police was informed by the doctor that the victim had died 8 to 10 hours earlier due to consumption of intoxicant substance.

After hearing the submissions the Court noted that petitioner's total custody in the FIR as on the date, around two years and six months.

It observed that the the law of bail, like any other branch of law, has its own philosophy, and occupies an important place in the administration of justice and the concept of bail emerges from the conflict between the police power to restrict liberty of a man who is alleged to have committed a crime, and presumption of innocence in favour of the alleged criminal, reliance was placed on Supreme Court's decision in Vaman Narain Ghiya v. state of Rajasthan.

Referring to Apex Court's decision in Babu Singh & ors v. State of UP, the Court further added that “Personal liberty deprived when bail is refused is too precious a value of our constitutional system recognised under Article 21 that the curial power to negate it is a great trust exercisable, not casually, but judicially with lively concern for the cost to the individual and the community. When the undertrial prisoners are detained in jail custody to an indefinite period, Article 21 of the Constitution is violated.”

In the light of the above, plea was allowed.

Mr. Munish Garg, Advocate for the petitioner.

Mr. Jasdev Singh Thind, DAG, Punjab.

Title: MANPREET ALIAS MANI v. STATE OF PUNJAB

Citation: 2025 LiveLaw (PH) 394

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