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| DB reduces sentence of accused charas smuggler from 20 yrs to 12 yrs | | | Early Times Report
Jammu, Aug 24- A Division Bench of J&K High Court Jammu Wing has reduced the sentence and fine of accused charas smuggler who was arrested on January 30, 2007 while carrying 4.65 kg of charas . The accused was convicted and awarded 20 years imprisonment, besides a fine of Rs.2 lakhs u/s 8/20 of NDPS Act by Special Judge Udhampur.
The Bench comprising Justice Hakim Imtiyaz Hussain and Justice JP Singh, in an appeal filed by the accused smuggler Mumtaz Ahmed, observed that age, antecedents, character, status, financial position and various other factors, including the dependence of others on the person found guilty and the nature of their dependence on him, are required to be kept in mind while considering the award for punishment. The Trial Court has not taken into consideration any of these factors while sentencing the appellant and in this view of the matter, DB find it difficult to uphold the award of maximum sentence provided for the offence under the NDPS Act to the appellant by the Special Judge Udhampur.
Division Bench, while reducing the sentence, further observed that where the statute prescribes, the minimum and the maximum sentence for the offence aggravating circumstances and the reasons to support the award of maximum punishment are required to be spelt out by the Court, justifying the sentence awardable to the one found guilty. The prosecution does not indicate the appellant to have any past history of drug smuggling and all that appears from the evidence is that he belongs to poor strata of the society. He was found carrying Rs 4 only with him at the time of his search. In the absence of any aggravating of circumstances projected against the appellant by the prosecution justifying award of maximum punishment, provided for the offence of which the appellant has been convicted, the Division Bench are of the view that in the circumstances of the case the sentence awarded to appellant needs to be reduced to 12 years from 20 years and fine Rs 1 lakh from 2 lakhs. With these observations Division Bench disposed off the appeal by upholding the appellant’s conviction u/s 8/20 of NDPS Act but reducing the sentence in default of fine he is further imprisonment for one year. JNF
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