The Punjab and Haryana High Court has ordered the immediate release of a forex money changer from Phagwara, ruling that his arrest in an alleged drug money case was illegal due to serious procedural lapses.
In the judgment delivered earlier this week, Justice Mahabir Singh Sindhu sharply criticised the police for bypassing legal safeguards during the money changer’s arrest and the search of his premises.
The case stems from the First Information Report (FIR) registered on January 21, 2025, by the Punjab Police’s Anti-Narcotics Task Force (ANTF) in Mohali.
It initially targeted a drug-smuggling ring, leading to multiple arrests, and the seizure of heroin and cash.
The money changer’s name surfaced later, based on information received on March 17.
The following day, police recovered €20,000, £10,000, 10,020 Canadian dollars, and ₹13.3 lakh in cash, along with a DVR and currency counting machine, from his residence and business.
He was arrested on March 18 and remanded to police custody by a judicial magistrate in Amritsar.
The money changer challenged his arrest, calling it baseless and illegal.
His counsel, Senior Advocate Bipan Ghai, argued that he was not named in the original FIR, had no link to the co-accused, and was not informed in writing about the grounds of arrest.
The police, he said, also broke into his locked premises without justification or proper authorisation.
Justice Sindhu found merit in the challenge.
In his detailed ruling, he noted that the police failed to serve the money changer the written grounds of arrest, a constitutional safeguard and a requirement under Section 50 of the Code of Criminal Procedure or CrPC (now Section 47 of the BNSS).
“It was imperative for the Investigating Agency to supply the ‘grounds of arrest’ to the petitioner, but they miserably failed to do so,” Justice Sindhu wrote, calling it a breach of Article 22 of the Constitution.
The court also ruled the search and seizure illegal, noting that the police broke open his premises without recording reasons or informing the magistrate, violating Section 185 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023.
“From perusal of the entire police file, it is nowhere discernible that any reason(s) was/were recorded for breaking the lock of the premises… thus, there is complete negation of mandatory provisions,” Justice Sindhu said.
Justice Sindhu cited Supreme Court judgments, including State of Punjab vs Baldev Singh (1999), to assert that evidence from an illegal search cannot be used.
He also rejected the state’s argument of “substantial compliance,” holding that legal safeguards must be strictly followed.
Calling the arrest “non est in the eyes of law,” the court quashed the magistrate’s remand order dated March 19, and ordered the money changer’s release, “if not required in any other case.”
Justice Sindhu dismissed the Punjab Government’s claim that the accused was part of a drug cartel, saying judicial orders cannot validate an illegal arrest.
Justice Sindhu also invoked the legal maxim Sublato fundamento cadit opus, which means once the foundation is removed, the superstructure falls.
While granting relief to the money changer, the court clarified that its observations should not influence the merits of the ongoing investigation.
The case stems from the First Information Report (FIR) registered on January 21, 2025, by the Punjab Police's Anti-Narcotics Task Force (ANTF) in Mohali. (File) 
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