Implemented stringent act PIT-NDPS after 35 years to fight Drug menace
Last updated: 23 October 2026
Punjab was 1st in the region to set up the PIT-NDPS Advisory Board (January 2023), before Himachal (April 2023) and Haryana (August 2023)[1]
-- No earlier Punjab govt had used the 1988 Act: zero detentions in 2017, 2018 & 2019 (NCRB)[2]; the Congress govt proposed it in Oct 2018 but never set up the board[3]
-- 1st detention in Aug 2024 (Billa Havellian, with NCB); 1st executed by Punjab Police in Oct 2024[4]
Till Sept 2026: 7 preventive detentions executed under PIT-NDPS since early 2024; police say each case needs lengthy documentation & civil administration approvals[5]
2 preventive Detentions already executed (Nov 2024)[6]
-- 89 Proposals already prepared under PIT-NDPS Act as of June 2024
1st Detention by Punjab Police: Notorious drug smuggler Tari detained under PIT-NDPS Act on 26 Oct 2024[4:1]
-- Tari has been involved in smuggling of 231-kg heroin
-- Already convicted and sentenced in 2 drugs cases
The PIT-NDPS act allows detaining drug lords/suspects for up to 2 years, even incase of strong suspicion by Police with strong evidence[7]
-- Special & Stringent Law for Drugs implemented after 35 years of the law passing[8]
Action[9]
- 23 Oct 2026: 6 senior IPS officers given special powers to detain a person for 3 months under the NDPS Act[10]
- Proposals being submitted to the home department
- Punjab Police has prepared a list of 100 repeat drug traffickers who will be taken into preventive custody
- This list is in addition to the 75 names submitted by the Border Security Force
- Even Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) had implemented 3 such proposals as of 26 Oct 2024[4:2]
Advisory board under this Act[11]
CM Bhagwant Mann gave a go-ahead to implement the PIT-NDPS on 24 January 2023
Neither Congress govt nor NDA govt showed any interest in implementing it
- Section 9 provides for constitution of an advisory board for looking into grievances of those being taken into custody
- 24 January 2023, the Bhagwant Mann-led government constituted the 3-member the board, which has the powers to listen to grievances of those being taken into preventive custody
- The government has appointed Justice Shabihul Hasnain (retd) as the chairperson of the board and advocates Suveer Sheokand and Divanshu Jain as its members
PIT-NDPS Features[7:1]
- PIT-NDPS: The stringent act of Prevention of Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (PITNDPS) Act 1988
- Section 3 of the Act empowers the government to detain people engaging in illicit trafficking of drugs and psychotropic substances
References:
https://theprint.in/statedraft/why-punjab-has-invoked-a-36-yr-old-law-for-the-1st-time-to-crack-down-on-drug-lords-and-how-it-works/2283845/ ↩︎
https://www.mha.gov.in/MHA1/Par2017/pdfs/par2021-pdfs/LS-10082021/3636.pdf (MHA reply in Lok Sabha, 10 Aug 2021) ↩︎
https://www.deccanherald.com/amp/story/india%2Fpunjab-detain-drug-smugglers-698513.html ↩︎
https://www.hindustantimes.com/cities/chandigarh-news/in-a-first-punjab-cops-detain-smuggler-under-pit-ndps-act-101729884243823.html ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎
https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/punjab/2-17l-narcotics-offenders-in-punjab-just-7-held-under-stringent-law/ ↩︎
https://www.theweek.in/wire-updates/national/2024/11/26/des77-pb-smuggler.html ↩︎
https://www.hindustantimes.com/cities/chandigarh-news/punjab-police-s-plan-to-go-tough-on-drug-traffickers-hits-home-dept-hurdle-101704826522068.html ↩︎ ↩︎
https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/chandigarh/punjab-police-arrest-drug-smugglers-8658774/ ↩︎
https://www.hindustantimes.com/cities/chandigarh-news/drug-trafficking-punjab-to-tighten-noose-on-over-100-repeat-offenders-101703188423952.html ↩︎
https://www.babushahi.com/view-news.php?id=228647 (Babushahi, 23 Oct 2026) ↩︎
https://www.hindustantimes.com/cities/chandigarh-news/punjab-mann-govt-to-invoke-law-to-detain-drug-lords-for-up-to-two-years-101676921455529.html ↩︎
