The Supreme Court has made Haryana and Himachal Pradesh parties to the Punjab drugs case before directing the chief secretaries of the three states to immediately convene a meeting of all “stakeholders” and file affidavits within five days on the action taken in the matter.The bench of Justice Sanjay Karol and Justice Augustine George Masih also asked Punjab to disclose the steps taken to trace dismissed state officer Raj Jit Singh Hundal, who has been declared a proclaimed offender.The directions came days after the Supreme Court asked Punjab Advocate-General Maninderjit Singh Bedi to prepare a “written note indicating the steps taken by the state in curtailing the menace of drug trafficking in Punjab as also the bordering state(s).”The bench was hearing a bunch of matters related to the state of Punjab. One of the matters was placed before the court after the Punjab and Haryana High Court in April dismissed as non-maintainable a bail petition filed against the state of Punjab by an accused in a drugs case registered on February 18, 2023, at Dera Baba Nanak police station in Gurdaspur district.The case has its genesis in a report submitted by BSF officials regarding “suspicious movement ahead of border fencing.” According to the prosecution, 19.850 kg of heroin was recovered after a thorough search was conducted.As the matter came up for resumed hearing before the Supreme Court, the bench de-tagged the two matters before observing that Bedi –– at its asking –– held a meeting with the officers of Punjab as well as Himachal Advocate-General.“We have interacted with Maninderjit Singh Bedi, Advocate-General for the state of Punjab, and Anup Kumar Rattan, Advocate-General for the state of Himachal Pradesh,” the bench observed, adding that both had submitted a short note.“In the attending facts and circumstances, we deem it appropriate to implead the states of Himachal Pradesh and Haryana, through their respective chief secretaries, as party respondents…,” the bench directed.The court further asked the petitioners, including the newly added respondents, to “positively” file their affidavits.“The state of Punjab must also disclose in their affidavit, the steps taken for searching the corpus of Raj Jit Singh Hundal, an officer of the state of Punjab, who, post-registration of FIR No.1 of 2017 of STF, SAS Nagar Police Station, Mohali District, Punjab, now stands dismissed from service; a look-out notice stands issued against him; his property stands attached; and has been declared as a proclaimed offender in terms of the order dated August 17, 2023, passed by the JMIC, Mohali, Punjab,” the bench added.The Supreme Court further asked the chief secretaries to convene a meeting of all stakeholders and place the outcome before it within five days.”We request the chief secretaries for all the three states – Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and Haryana – to forthwith convene a meeting against all the stakeholders and file an affidavit indicating the status of the affairs…. Let needful be done within next five days.”The matter has been listed for further hearing on August 4.