Chandigarh: The Punjab government has authorised six senior police officers to exercise powers under a law aimed at preventing illicit drug trafficking, according to a notification issued by the state’s Department of Home Affairs on October 21.
The notification, published in the Punjab Government Gazette, invokes Section 3(1) of the Prevention of Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1988 (PIT-NDPS Act). It also covers police commissioners of Inspector General of Police (IGP) rank and above within their respective jurisdictions, as well as IGP-rank or higher officers heading police ranges.
The move establishes an administrative framework for exercising the law’s preventive-detention powers across police commissionerates, ranges and headquarters units.
Which Six Senior Police Officers Have Been Empowered?
The Punjab government notification names the following officers:
– A S Rai, IPS: Special Director General of Police, Traffic
– Gautam Cheema, IPS: Additional Director General of Police
– Shive Verma, IPS: Additional Director General of Police, Internal Security
– Kaustubh Sharma, IPS: Additional Director General of Police, Security
– Naunihal Singh, IPS: Additional Director General of Police, Internal Vigilance Cell
– S. Boopathi, IPS: Inspector General of Police, Provisioning
According to the notification, these six officers have been specially empowered for commissionerates, police ranges and headquarters units where an officer of IGP rank is not available.
The Director General of Police (DGP), Punjab, will administratively allocate the jurisdiction of these officers.
What Does the PIT-NDPS Act Cover?
The Prevention of Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1988, is a preventive-detention law designed to help prevent illicit trafficking in narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances.
Section 3 provides for detention orders against persons covered by the law when the statutory conditions are met. Such detention is distinct from ordinary criminal proceedings under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985, which deals with offences involving narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances.
The distinction matters because the latest Punjab notification concerns the authority to exercise powers under the 1988 preventive-detention law. It should not be interpreted as a blanket authorisation to bypass the legal requirements governing criminal investigations, arrests or prosecutions.
Why Has Punjab Issued the Notification Now?
The notification comes amid heightened attention to drug trafficking and the supply of pharmaceutical drugs in Punjab.
On October 21, the state’s DGP, Gaurav Yadav, also discussed efforts to curb the illegal supply of pharmaceutical drugs and sought greater enforcement coordination with other states, according to a report by Hindustan Times.
The broader anti-drug push has gained renewed attention following the October 13 killing of anti-drug activist Parvinder Singh Jhota in Mansa. The case was subsequently handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), according to published reports.
However, the October 21 notification does not explicitly link the authorisation of the six officers to Jhota’s murder or announce a separate operation, arrest target or deadline.
The immediate significance of the order is administrative: it identifies senior officers who can exercise the specified statutory powers and provides for the allocation of their jurisdiction in police units without an IGP-rank officer.
