Recently, the Supreme Court held that, Special Leave Petitions (SLPs) in criminal cases often lacked crucial information.

The division bench Justices S Ravindra Bhat and Justice Aravind Kumar further expressed its concern for necessary changes in the rules and practices of criminal case proceedings.

The Court made the observation that Special Leave Petitions (SLPs) frequently lack essential details, including the age of the accused or petitioner. Furthermore, it noted that crucial information, such as the frequency of reporting to the police or the investigating authority by individuals seeking bail, the availability of a complete chargesheet, any order on charges, and the number of witnesses examined, is typically omitted.

During the proceedings, the Court was considering a Special Leave Petition (SLP) challenging the judgment of the Punjab & Haryana High Court. The High Court's decision had denied bail to the petitioner, who had been charged under Sections 15, 25, and 29 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985.

In the said matter, the petitioner was allegedly found in possession of 120 kgs of poppy husk.

The counsel argued that he had been falsely implicated in the case at hand.

In the course of the hearing, Justice Bhat raised a question regarding the minimum and maximum sentence the petitioner was facing,the advocate representing the petitioner stated that the sentencing could vary from a minimum of 10 years to a maximum of 20 years.

The counsel emphasized that the petitioner was not a habitual offender and was implicated for the first time.

Additionally, the advocate revealed that the charges against the petitioner had been formalized on September 8, 2021. Out of the total of 20 witnesses involved in the case, only four witnesses had been examined up to that point.

The matter was posted to Tuesday and the counsel assured that he would file the requisite documents before the court.

Case title: Kulwinder Singh v. State of Punjab