Prayagraj : Hearing a petition relating to the multi-crore codeine syrup smuggling racket, the Allahabad High Court on Thursday allowed a habeas corpus petition of two alleged members of the racket and quashed their detention under the Prevention of Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1988 (PITNDPS Act).
After Sonbhadra Police busted the racket smuggling codeine cough syrup to countries like Bangladesh for narcotic uses in Oct 2025, the first case against fugitive kingpin Shubham Jaiswal and 27 others was lodged in Varanasi on Nov 15, 2025. Shubham’s father Bhola Prasad and several other accused in this case have already been arrested, while properties worth several crores of many accused have also been forfeited. Police have also intensified the manhunt for Vaishali, wife of Shubham, after a Varanasi court recently issued a non-bailable warrant against her. Vaishali is also accused in cases of fraud and other offences and has been absconding
The petitioners had challenged the July 7 detention order passed under the NDPS Act. The petitioners’ plea was that the detention order failed to demonstrate a real possibility of Rana being released from custody and thereafter engaging in activities prejudicial to the purposes of the preventive-detention law. They alleged that the detention order suffered from non-application of mind and Rana’s name subsequently surfaced in the investigation through statements attributed to co-accused persons.