Chandigarh, Aug. 27 -- The Punjab and Haryana high court has summoned director general of police (law and order) over police officials not appearing as witnesses in drugs cases despite lower courts issuing non-bailable warrants against them. The officer has been summoned on September 21. "This state of affairs reflects a deeply disturbing and systemic lapse in the prosecutorial mechanism, whereby the trial is stalled indefinitely due to the indifference or wilful non-cooperation of official witnesses. Such conduct not only frustrates the right of the accused-whether incarcerated or on bail-to a speedy trial as enshrined under Article 21 of the Constitution of India, but also gravely undermines the administration of criminal justice," the bench of justice Sumeet Goel observed while hearing a second bail application from an accused in an FIR registered in March 2025 in Ferozepur in connection with recovery of 2 kg of heroin. Section 37 bars bail in commercial quantity seizures of drugs. The SC, while dealing with Section 37 of NDPS Act, has laid down that before granting bail, the court has to have "reasonable grounds" for believing that accused is not guilty of offence that he has been charged and that he is unlikely to commit offence under NDPS Act while on bail again. The second condition is of granting opportunity to public prosecutor to oppose the bail. The court found that the petitioner accused Naseeb Singh is in custody for one year and five months whereas, none of the cited prosecution witnesses have been examined till date. The challan in the case was presented in May 2025 and a total of 16 official prosecution witnesses were cited. This was his second bail plea first one was dismissed as withdrawn in January 2026. The court termed the trend "deeply disconcerting" and added that disregard is such that, in a number of cases, the prosecuting agency is not able to effect the service/execution of these processes even against their serving officials. The court concluded that the trial is unduly delayed, primarily on account of police officials not coming forward despite bailable warrants/non-bailable warrants and granted bail to the accused....