In a significant order with implications for drug law enforcement, the Punjab and Haryana High Court recently granted bail to multiple accused in drug cases while warning of a disturbing surge in First Information Reports (FIRS) that could indicate false implication and planted recoveries.In the order dated August 22 and made public Wednesday, Justice Sandeep Moudgil, while confirming interim anticipatory and regular bails in a batch of petitions, noted systemic issues in the handling of drug cases. “Probability of planted recovery becomes higher by misuse of said drug even at the end of police officials,” the court observed, adding that such apprehensions were amplified by incentives linked to higher case registrations.The petitions, 23 in all, involved allegations under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, mostly related to manufactured drugs such as tablets and capsules. Accused from districts such as Ludhiana, Fazilka, Muktsar in Punjab, and Fatehabad in Haryana, claimed they were framed in cases involving non-commercial quantities.During the hearings, counsels for the petitioners, such as Gurbir Singh Dhillon and P S Sekhon, raised concerns over what they termed a “false implication” in these cases. To substantiate their claims, they presented tabulated data.The first dataset revealed that between November 1, 2024, and April 30, 2025, the Punjab Police registered 2,107 NDPS cases involving manufactured drugs/tablets/capsules. High number of cases were reported in rural areas, such as Jalandhar (rural) with 296 cases, SBS Nagar with 170, and Ludhiana (rural) with 162. In contrast, urban commissionerates, including Amritsar (28), Jalandhar (50), and Ludhiana (24), showed significantly lower figures.A second table illustrated an “unprecedented rise” in overall FIRs and arrests under the NDPS Act. Starting from March 8, 2025, 875 FIRs and 1,188 arrests were recorded in 12 days. The numbers escalated dramatically by March 29, with 2,680 FIRs and 4,542 arrests, a 206.29 per cent increase in FIRs. By July 27, the Punjab Police clocked 14,906 FIRs and 23,647 arrests.The order notes, “A reference has been made to the fact that there is an unprecedented rise in the registration of the FIRs with 23,647 arrests involving non-commercial quantity and in more than 20,000 FIRs of a similar kind, the contraband recovered is tablets either loose or in strips without having a batch number and expiry date.”Story continues below this adThe court warned that such numbers could not be ignored and said, “In such circumstances, (the) probability of planted recovery becomes higher by misuse of said drug even at the end of police officials… apprehension is quite large in the wake of periodic amendments… that those police officials will be beautified in addition who will lodge (a) higher number of cases.”Justice Moudgil sought assistance from Punjab’s Advocate General M S Bedi, who, after consulting Director General of Police Gaurav Yadav, assured the court that “no cases of false implication would be lodged and the scheme ‘Yudh Nasheyan Virudh’ (a campaign launched by the Punjab government to fight the drug problem) would be implemented only in its true letter and spirit after taking due care and protection of innocent persons”.He further committed that law-enforcing agencies will take all “necessary cautions” to take corrective measures in an endeavour to protect innocents.Haryana’s Additional Advocate General Sushil Bhardwaj similarly submitted that “there is no instance of false implication, and the FIRs are being registered solely with the objective of eradicating the drug menace”.Story continues below this adHe assured that the petitioners’ concerns and court observations would be escalated to senior authorities, including the DGP and home secretary of Haryana, to prevent innocents from being “unnecessarily dragged into such FIRs merely to inflate the number of cases for the purpose of presenting embellished statistics”.Accepting these statements, the court made interim protections absolute in several cases and extended time for others to join investigations. The petitions were disposed of with a cautionary note, without deeper intervention.