Bail Orders That Let Drug Peddlers Regrow in Churachandpur and Kangpokpi Districts of Manipur

The persistent surge in drug peddler arrests in Churachandpur and Kangpokpi districts of Manipur—despite daily operations by security forces—mirrors the mythical Ravana from the Ramayana, whose severed heads only multiplied. 

In the epic Ramayana, Ravana's heads multiplied every time one was severed—symbolizing an endless cycle of regeneration despite repeated efforts to destroy the evil. A similar frustrating pattern unfolds in Churachandpur and Kangpokpi districts of Manipur, where security forces arrest drug peddlers almost daily, yet the flow of narcotics and the arrests themselves show no sign of abating. 

Arrests continue unabated, with frequent seizures of opium, heroin in soap cases, and other contraband, yet the drug trade shows no signs of decline. Poppy eradication drives destroy hundreds of acres annually, but new consignments and operators emerge relentlessly. 

The root cause increasingly points not to enforcement failures at the arrest stage, but to systemic breakdowns in the judicial process, particularly the ease with which accused individuals secure bail or release under the NDPS Act, allowing networks to regenerate.

Large seizures of drugs amounting to around Rs 3.6 crores in the market from Letminthang Haokip on January 28, 2026, or earlier hauls of heroin in soap cases and raw opium demonstrate relentless effort of the enforcement department. Poppy destruction drives continue across hundreds of acres in these hill areas, yet new peddlers and consignments keep emerging. 

The question arises, where lies the fault in this seemingly unending battle?The core issue appears to be not in the arrests themselves, security forces are very proactive but in the subsequent stages of justice delivery under the NDPS Act. 

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The recent incident involving Letminthang Haokip illustrates this vulnerability. Arrested on January 28, 2026, by a combined team of Churachandpur District Police and Assam Rifles near Khokon village along the Sangaikot-Sugnu Road, Haokip (45, resident of Kanan Veng, Tuibong, Churachandpur) was found in possession of 36.054 kg of suspected contraband opium packed in 37 plastic containers, along with a Bolero vehicle and a mobile handset (including one SIM card). 

This commercial quantity triggers stringent bail restrictions under Section 37 of the NDPS Act. He was produced next day before the Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM), Churachandpur, on January 29, 2026, where the prosecution sought eight days of police custody remand. 

However, the CJM granted bail, relying on the Supreme Court's precedent in Mihir Rajesh Shah vs State of Maharashtra & Anr. (2025 INSC 1288, Criminal Appeal No. 2195 of 2025), which mandates that grounds of arrest must be furnished in writing to the arrestee (reinforcing Article 22(1) of the Constitution and related procedural safeguards under the CrPC/BNSS). 

The CJM recorded that the Investigating Officer submitted only oral communication of the grounds had occurred, with no written intimation provided, leading to the release on bail (with a fallback to 15 days judicial custody if bonds could not be furnished).

This decision prompted swift intervention by the State of Manipur, which filed a criminal review petition. A Special Bench of the High Court of Manipur, constituted by the Chief Justice, heard the matter and suspended the CJM's bail order. The Bench found the CJM's recording potentially factually incorrect, as the Advocate General presented evidence—including a screenshot of a document furnishing the grounds of arrest, acknowledged by the accused's wife via thumb impression on January 28, 2026—indicating written compliance. 

The High Court emphasized that Section 37 of the NDPS Act imposes strict conditions on bail for offenses involving commercial quantities, and the Mihir Rajesh Shah ratio did not apply given the disputed facts. Later, Letminthang Haokip was remanded to police custody until February 2, 2026, and directed to be produced before the Special Judge (ND&PS), Churachandpur, on that date for further proceedings. 

The Special Judge was empowered to pass appropriate orders per law, notwithstanding the pending High Court petition. The review petition was narrowly confined to examining whether written grounds of arrest were furnished, with the pendency not affecting NDPS Court proceedings.

To ensure thorough scrutiny, the Court also called for a photocopy of the complete record of the first remand proceeding before the CJM, Churachandpur, and listed the case for further hearing on February 16, 2026.

This step highlights the High Court's commitment to verifying procedural compliance and preventing any misapplication of safeguards that could inadvertently aid serious offenders.

However, this episode also raises deeper concerns. Even stringent NDPS bail curbs under Section 37 can be undermined by misapplication of safeguards meant to protect rights, potentially enabling accused individuals to evade accountability, even if only temporarily before higher courts intervene. 

If such releases occur, it risks eroding public confidence and the deterrent effect of arrests. The fault, then, partly lies in judicial handling like ensuring rigorous adherence to arrest protocols by police and cautious, fact-based application of bail norms by magistrates in high-stakes NDPS matters.

While thousands have been arrested statewide over the years (with ongoing operations in 2026 yielding frequent detentions in these districts), convictions remain disproportionately low. Historical data shows patterns where arrests number in the thousands, but NDPS convictions lag far behind, often in the low hundreds relative to cases filed due to procedural delays, evidentiary gaps, or bail provisions. 

Recent reports from Manipur Police dashboards and operations indicate persistent arrests in Churachandpur and Kangpokpi, but transparent, district-specific conviction figures remain elusive or limited, suggesting many cases do not culminate in sustained punishment.

In many instances, arrests involving significant quantities of contraband, often linked to cross-border smuggling from Myanmar have led to initial detentions, only for bail to be granted by lower courts on procedural or other grounds, sometimes prompting higher court intervention or leaving cases stalled.

For example, in mid-2025 operations across Churachandpur, large seizures occurred repeatedly, including a major haul on June 5-7, 2025, under "Operation White Veil," where five individuals were arrested with heroin and cash valued at over ₹55 crore. While the arrests highlighted enforcement efforts, reports indicate that in similar high-profile NDPS cases in the district, bail applications are frequently entertained at the magistrate level, often citing evidentiary or procedural issues, even though Section 37 of the NDPS Act demands stringent conditions for commercial quantities. 

Such releases, temporary or otherwise, boosted enabling accused persons to influence witnesses, relocate assets, or resume activities, perpetuating the cycle.

In Kangpokpi, a July 2025, crackdown saw four individuals arrested from Tumuyon Khullen village with heroin worth crores and nearly ₹1 crore in cash seized. This led to asset freezing under NDPS provisions later that year (September 2025), marking a progressive step. 

However, prior patterns in the district show that many arrested peddlers secure bail during remand stages or trials, contributing to low conviction rates. 

Manipur Police dashboards reveal only a handful of convictions in Kangpokpi (6 persons as of early 2026 data covering prior years), despite hundreds of arrests statewide and frequent district-level operations—indicating that bail grants often interrupt the path to punishment.

Another recurring issue surfaces in cases involving "soap case" heroin concealment, a common modus operandi in hill districts. In one 2025 interception near Tupul bridge (between Churachandpur and Kangpokpi), two peddlers—Ginminlen Haokip and Holminlen Khongsal—were arrested with 2.193 kg of suspected heroin/brown sugar. 

While such arrests grab news headlines, the broader judicial system in these areas has seen lower courts occasionally granting bail on grounds like incomplete paperwork or health claims, mirroring the procedural reliance seen in the Letminthang Haokip
opium case. These decisions, even if later reviewed, allow brief windows for networks to adapt.

These precedents expose a systemic challenge. While security forces and specialized units like the Anti-Narcotic Task Force maintain pressure through arrests and poppy destruction, judicial bail orders, often based on technicalities enable the "regrowth" of peddler operations. 

Historical data from Manipur paints a grim picture of enforcement undermined by low conviction rates. As of July 2022, over 2,500 drug peddlers had been arrested in the state over the preceding five years, yet only 14 individuals were convicted during that period—a minuscule fraction. 

A broader study covering 2007–2023 indicated that only about 2 percent of accused persons were convicted under the NDPS Act. Government figures from 2017 to 2022 reveal that 1,743 cases were registered against drug smugglers, abusers, and accused persons; 2,158 accused were under judicial custody; charge sheets were framed against 697; and just 14 were convicted. Over 12,917 cases remained pending at that time. 

Despite the NDPS Act's enforcement in Manipur since 1987, and the establishment of a Special NDPSA Court, convictions have been extremely low, only 36 peddlers convicted over 17 years in one account, with delays in filing cases, slow forensic testing at lab (over 120 cases pending results), and prolonged investigations cited as key bottlenecks. 

In Imphal East and West alone, of 80 drug-related cases in recent years, only six resulted in convictions. These statewide trends, thousands arrested but convictions in the low dozens or hundreds extend to hill districts like Churachandpur and Kangpokpi, where frequent operations yield arrests but rarely translate to sustained punishment due to evidentiary delays, procedural hurdles, and bail grants.

This low conviction rate, often below 0.1% nationally in recent NDPS cases, with Manipur reflecting similar patterns exacerbates the "Ravana" cycle. Even when arrests disrupt immediate supply chains, the absence of swift, reliable convictions fails to deter networks. Pending cases pile up, charge sheets lag, and forensic bottlenecks allow accused to exploit delays, often securing bail in the interim.

Ultimately, breaking this Ravana-like cycle demands more than arrests and seizures. It also requires closing enforcement-to-conviction gaps through faster trials, better evidence preservation, stricter bail scrutiny under NDPS, and transparent reporting on bookings, prosecutions, and punishments in districts like Churachandpur and Kangpokpi. Only when arrests reliably lead to convictions and imprisonment will the drug trade's "heads" stop regenerating, allowing communities to heal from this pervasive menace.

The tireless efforts of security forces, Manipur police teams, Assam Rifles, and anti-narcotics units, who risk their lives daily on the ground to intercept consignments, destroy poppy fields, and apprehend drug peddlers must not be rendered a mockery by judicial decisions that release accused drug peddlers on bail too readily. 

These frontline personnel operate under immense pressure, often in hostile terrain and amid cross-border threats, to deliver concrete results. When lower courts grant bail on procedural technicalities, despite the gravity of commercial-quantity offenses and the strict safeguards of Section 37 of the NDPS Act, it undermines their hard-won gains, demoralizes the ranks, and sends a dangerous signal that enforcement is futile if justice does not follow through. 

The public and the forces deserve a judiciary that matches their resolve with equal rigor, ensuring that arrests lead to accountability rather than temporary freedom for the accused.