Justice Sandeep Sharma dismissed his plea after noting that Shah has a long criminal history, multiple pending NDPS cases and has been declared a proclaimed offender three times.
Shah has been in jail since February 7, 2025, in connection with an FIR registered under Sections 21 and 29 of the NDPS Act at Police Station Sadar, Shimla.
The case began in April 2024 when police caught Veer Singh with 7.98 grams of heroin near Lalpani Bus Stop. During the investigation, Veer Singh and two other accused – Santosh Kumar and Prahlad Singh – allegedly linked Shah to the drug racket.
Investigators told the court that the group used courier parcels, virtual numbers and UPI transactions to run the chitta supply chain.
Payments were routed through the bank account of Prahlad’s mother, while Shah allegedly used a QR code and a virtual international number to direct operations from different locations.
The court observed that Shah is involved in six criminal cases, five of them under the NDPS Act. He was already facing trials in cases registered in Shimla, Theog and Mohali, including a 2022 Punjab case where 150 grams of heroin was recovered.
He had also skipped court hearings, leading to multiple proclamations as an absconder.
Justice Sharma said the accused’s “history, conduct during trial, multiple addresses and repeated involvement in drug trafficking” make him unfit for bail.
The court added that protecting his liberty could “be a bane for society”, given the ongoing drug crisis in Himachal Pradesh.
Noting that the Supreme Court has already directed the Special Court to complete the trial by February 2026, the High Court said there was no ground to release him at this stage. The bail plea was dismissed.
