New Delhi, April 27 -- The Supreme Court has voiced concern over the increasing infiltration of drug networks into educational institutions, cautioning that young students are being systematically targeted as both consumers and conduits. As it paused coercive action against a 21-year-old law student accused of procuring ganja, a bench of justices JB Pardiwala and Vijay Bishnoi said that the case before it highlighted a larger, troubling pattern. "Drug trafficking and abuse within educational institutions represent a critical, growing challenge, transforming schools and colleges into target zones for illicit substance networks," said the court in its recent order, noting that "criminal networks actively target students as both consumers and agents, with reports indicating that drug peddlers use students to sell drugs with educational environments." "This is the position across the country," lamented the bench, as it heard an appeal by a fourth-year law student from Hyderabad, whose plea to quash criminal proceedings under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985 had been rejected by the Telangana High Court in December 2025. According to the prosecution, the student was found in possession of 20 grams of ganja on campus in 2024 after two co-accused allegedly delivered the contraband to her on a scooter, acting at the behest of a "kingpin" supplier. The police claimed the student had previously contacted the accused to procure drugs and had made payments through digital transactions. The high court, relying on the charge sheet and accompanying material, had held that a prima facie case existed against the student. It rejected her contention that she had been falsely implicated based solely on the confession of co-accused and pointed to evidence suggesting prior transactions and recovery of contraband. Before the Supreme Court, however, the tone shifted from a purely evidentiary assessment to a broader reflection on the consequences of criminal prosecution in such cases. Expressing "much concern" over a "bright young girl pursuing her law" being caught in a drug case, the bench noted that the implications of prosecution could be disproportionately severe. The court then directed the Telangana government to take "appropriate instructions" on how it proposes to proceed. It also indicated that it may appoint an amicus curiae to assist in examining the issue more closely....