Punjab just bet ₹75 crore and 385 new judicial posts on a single proposition: that faster trials are the sharpest weapon in a drug war. The Punjab Cabinet, chaired by Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann, approved the creation of 35 Exclusive Special NDPS Courts across the state on Sunday, 1 November 2026 — a sweeping judicial infrastructure push aimed at cutting through years of accumulated pendency in narcotics cases.

What the Cabinet sanctioned: courts, staff, and a ₹75 crore bill

The decision, taken at a meeting of the Council of Ministers, is specific and staffed to the last post. Each of the 35 new NDPS courts will be anchored by an Additional District and Sessions Judge, backed by a pool of 315 support staff and 35 Assistant District Attorneys — one prosecutorial officer per court. The total sanctioned expenditure, covering both infrastructure and recurring costs, stands at approximately ₹75 crore.

The courts will operate exclusively under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 — the central legislation that defines drug offences, mandates minimum sentences, and explicitly provides for the creation of special trial courts to handle caseloads that overwhelm ordinary sessions courts. Dedicating benches solely to NDPS matters is a proven mechanism to prevent narcotics cases from languishing behind a general docket of civil and criminal work.

'Yudh Nashian Virudh' — the campaign these courts are meant to sharpen

The Cabinet decision arrives under the banner of Yudh Nashian Virudh (ਯੁੱਧ ਨਸ਼ਿਆਂ ਵਿਰੁੱਧ — 'War Against Drugs'), the Mann government's flagship anti-narcotics campaign that has framed state policy since the Aam Aadmi Party came to power in 2022. Punjab's drug problem is not a new crisis — successive administrations since the 1980s have launched enforcement drives and stood up special courts — but judicial pendency has persistently blunted the deterrent effect of arrests. A dealer or trafficker who knows their trial will take a decade calculates risk very differently from one facing a dedicated, fast-track bench.

By establishing 35 courts simultaneously, the government is attempting to create statewide coverage rather than concentrating capacity in a handful of high-caseload districts. Whether that coverage translates into faster verdicts will depend on how quickly the 385 sanctioned posts are actually filled — recruitment and operationalisation timelines will be the real test of intent.

What comes next: from sanction to gavel

The hard work begins now. Infrastructure must be built or requisitioned, judges posted, support staff recruited, and district attorneys assigned before a single additional NDPS hearing can be scheduled. Drug-affected communities across Punjab — and the state judiciary that will absorb these new benches — will be watching whether the Cabinet's Sunday announcement translates into functional courtrooms within a credible timeframe. Political will has been declared; administrative delivery is the next act.