Mundra drug haul case: Accused’s children bullied, Supreme Court seeks solution

Harpreet Singh Talwar alias Kabir Talwar, an accused in the Mundra drug haul case, on Thursday complained to the Supreme Court that his children were being bullied in school after the NIA alleged proceeds of the crime were used in terror attacks by Lashkar-e-Taiba.

“My children are being bullied in school. They are now called terrorist’s children and had to be brought back. The submission was all over today’s newspapers and media. Without any basis, the NIA made the statement in an NDPS case,” senior counsel Aryam Sundaram told a bench led by Justice Surya Kant on behalf of Talwar.

The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence had in September 2021 recovered 2,988.21 kg heroin worth Rs 21,000 crore from some containers that arrived at Mundra Port from Afghanistan via Iran. Talwar – who ran popular clubs in Delhi — was arrested in August 2022 in connection with the biggest drug haul in India.

Sundaram said in the previous hearing on Talwar’s bail, a law officer representing the NIA referred to terror attacks, including the one in Pahalgam, and alleged that money from drugs crimes was used in terror strikes. Noting that the report was published by most of the newspapers, he said Talwar’s children were getting threat calls as the drug haul was linked to Pahalgam terror attack.

“No family member of any person, whosoever committed or did not commit any wrong, should suffer,” the bench said. “Take care of that part. We don’t want to say anything more. You know very well what is to be done,” it told Solicitor General Tushar Mehta.

“Our investigation has revealed that the proceeds of this sale have gone to Lashkar-e-Taiba for terror activities and this is what has been reported by the newspapers,” Mehta submitted.

“While they may be public faces of the organisation, they also bear responsibility for the blood of innocent people lost in terror attacks,” Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati had said on behalf of the NIA on Wednesday while opposing Talwar’s bail plea.

On Thursday, Bhati said children should not suffer due to the arguments in court and if that was the case, law enforcement agencies could take care of it.

Noting that the ASG was arguing in a different context, the bench assured the accused that it would not be influenced by the media reports and that the matter would be decided based on what has been argued and what is there on record.

India