Punjab Drugs Network From Jail: Trafficker Who Ran Network From Goindwal Sahib Jail Back In Jail as SC Cancels Bail
Punjab Drugs: The Supreme Court has set aside bail granted to Balraj Singh @ Billa, a Tarn Taran drug trafficker who allegedly directed heroin supply from inside Central Jail, Goindwal Sahib using illegal mobile phones.
North Desk Correspondent
New Delhi, June 6
This is the story of a drug trafficker from Tarn Taran who was allegedly directing heroin supply operations from inside Central Jail, Goindwal Sahib in Punjab, using illegal mobile phones.
The Punjab and Haryana High Court had granted him bail but the Punjab Police moved the Supreme Court of India which has set aside the bail while observing that the supply of drugs “vitally affects the national economy and health of the people.”
The Supreme Court flagged that the Punjab and Haryana High Court had failed to apply the mandatory legal test required under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act before releasing him.
A bench of Justice Sanjay Karol and Justice Nongmeikapam Kotiswar Singh passed the order this week, allowing an appeal filed by the State of Punjab against the High Court’s October 2025 order granting regular bail to Balraj Singh @ Billa.
The Interception and the Recovery
Punjab Drugs Network: The case originates from January 10, 2024, when Punjab Police set up a naka at a bridge on Canal Road, Village Veeram, Tarn Taran district. A Mahindra XUV 300 bearing UP registration attempted to flee on spotting the police party but stalled on the roadside. The two occupants identified themselves as Gurjit Singh @ Geetu and Sukhwinder Singh @ Gora.
Finding their responses unsatisfactory, the police issued a notice under Section 50 of the NDPS Act and called the Deputy Superintendent of Police to the spot. A search conducted after obtaining consent memos revealed 1.465 kg of heroin — a commercial quantity under the Act. The contraband was sealed and sent for forensic examination; the FSL report confirmed the recovered substance as diacetylmorphine, or heroin.
The Jail Connection
Punjab Drugs Network from Jails:: The case against Balraj Singh @ Billa emerged a day later. On January 11, 2024, the two arrested accused made a disclosure implicating him — stating that he had directed them, while lodged in Central Jail, Goindwal Sahib, to collect the heroin from the canal area and hold it pending further instructions. He was arrayed as an accused the same day.
Investigation further revealed that Balraj Singh was operating a drug trafficking network from inside the jail using illegal mobile phones — pointing to a serious failure of prison administration in preventing contraband communication devices from reaching inmates.
High Court Grants Bail, Supreme Court Steps In
Punjab Drugs Network from Jails: Balraj Singh’s bail application before the Special Court at Tarn Taran was rejected in July 2025. He approached the Punjab and Haryana High Court, which reversed that order in October 2025 and granted him regular bail, citing the period of his custody and the likelihood of a long trial.
The State of Punjab challenged that order.
The Supreme Court found the High Court’s order legally untenable on a fundamental ground: it had not applied the twin conditions mandatory under Section 37 of the NDPS Act before releasing an accused in a commercial quantity narcotics case.
Section 37 requires that in such cases, bail can only be granted if the court is satisfied — after the prosecution has had an opportunity to oppose — that there are reasonable grounds to believe the accused is not guilty and is not likely to commit any offence while on bail. The Supreme Court has consistently held this is not a procedural formality but a substantive bar.
“Upon a bare perusal of the impugned order, it is evident that there has been no consideration at all by the High Court on the twin conditions,” the bench observed. “In such a scenario, the impugned order cannot be sustained in the eyes of law.”
The court further noted that Balraj Singh has three prior antecedents of the same nature under the NDPS Act — making it impossible to record satisfaction that he is unlikely to commit an offence while on bail. At 1 year and 7 months of custody against a potential maximum sentence of 20 years, the court also rejected the prolonged incarceration argument.
Third Cancellation in the Same FIR
Punjab Drugs Network from Jails: This is the third bail cancellation by the Supreme Court arising from the same FIR. The court had earlier, in April 2026, set aside bail granted to the two co-accused — Gurjit Singh @ Geetu and Sukhwinder Singh @ Gora — through separate orders.
Supreme Court Flags Inconsistency on ‘Prolonged Incarceration’
In a notable broader observation, the bench flagged the absence of a uniform standard across Supreme Court benches on what constitutes “prolonged incarceration” warranting bail under Article 21 of the Constitution — presenting a chart of eight coordinate bench decisions in NDPS cases where outcomes varied significantly for accused with between two and four and a half years of custody.
The bench also made its position clear: “Should there be any conflict between the sovereignty of country and personal liberty, undoubtedly, the former shall prevail, particularly, when a war is waged against the nation, be it in the form of supply of drugs, which vitally affects the national economy and health of the people.”
Balraj Singh, who had surrendered pursuant to an interim Supreme Court direction on April 7, 2026, will continue in custody. The appeal stands allowed and the High Court’s bail order stands set aside.
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