Conviction rate touches 90% in drug cases with Reforms to speed up court cases' disposal
Last Updated: 2 November 2026
31 Oct 2026: Cabinet approved 35 exclusive NDPS courts to speed up drug-case trials[1]
-- Average disposal of NDPS cases takes about 8 years, which the new courts aim to cut[1:1]
Highest Conviction rate of 89% in NDPS* cases for 2026 under AAP (Oct 2026)[2]
-- 88% for year 2025[3]
-- 85% in 2024[3:1] and 81% Conviction rate in 2023[4]
Issues under previous governments
-- Delayed trial court cases
-- Non-appearance of even official witnesses in NDPS(Drugs) cases
-- Signing bail bonds became an illegal business in courts
-- 16,149 NDPS cases were still under trial even 2 years after framing of charges* as of 23 October 2023[5]
-- Conviction rate: meagre 58% under Congress (59% in 2018) and only 40% during Akali-BJP government[6]
NDPS investigation training for officers: 730 Punjab Police officers trained at RGNUL
| Year | Conviction Rate | Court Case Details |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 89% | Convictions in 1,634 of total 1,831 cases disposed of (till Oct 2026)[3:2] |
| 2025 | 88%[3:3] | |
| 2024 | 85%[3:4] | |
| 2023 | 81%[3:5] | |
| 2022 | 80%[3:6] | |
| 2017-2022 (Congress) | 58%[6:1] | |
| 2017-2017 (Akali-BJP) | 40%[6:2] |
*NDPS = Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act
1. A cop as witness can seek only 1 adjournment in court[5:1]
- DSPs of the respective areas would have to ensure that witnesses appear before courts
- The criminal cases can be registered against those not wilfully appearing as witnesses
- Any police officer facing disciplinary proceedings about drugs cases would not be appointed
-- neither as probe officer in drugs cases
-- nor SHO(station house officer) - A state-level monitoring committee formed under the officer not below the rank of the ADGP to monitor trials & other aspects
-- The committee would meet monthly - Any cop found harbouring/assisting drug accused persons would be dismissed & similar punishment for those officers who shelter them
2. Targeting illegal bail bond brokers
Under the law, a bail surety is typically a relative or friend of the accused who guarantees payment if the individual fails to appear in court
-- Law allows a person to sign a surety bond in only 1 case
Some people were exploiting the system by charging hefty amounts to sign surety bonds for repeat drug offenders
-- some signed bail bonds in as many as 10 drug cases
Govt is now targeting repeat surety signers and they face arrest for exploiting system
3. Exclusive NDPS Act Courts
References:
https://www.babushahi.com/full-news.php?id=229126 (Punjab Govt Press Release, 31 Oct 2026) ↩︎ ↩︎
https://updatepunjab.com/punjab/punjab-police-registers-60582-firs-arrests-79784-drug-smugglers-including-708-big-fish-since-launch-of-yudh-nashian-virudh-dgp-gaurav-yadav/ (Punjab Govt Press release) ↩︎
https://yespunjab.com/aaps-baltej-pannu-defends-punjabs-anti-drug-campaign-cites-89-ndps-conviction-rate/ (Punjab Govt Press release) ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎
https://www.babushahi.com/full-news.php?id=186225 (Punjab Govt Press release) ↩︎
https://www.hindustantimes.com/cities/chandigarh-news/nonappearance-of-cops-in-drug-trials-charges-framed-but-over-16-000-ndps-cases-pending-for-more-than-two-years-in-punjab-101698865825601.html ↩︎ ↩︎
https://www.newindianexpress.com/nation/2025/Mar/11/11-days-since-start-of-anti-drug-campaign-punjab-police-register-1072-firs-under-ndps-act ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎
