Chamba Singh Vs State of Punjab

Th e prayer in the present appeal i s to set aside the judgment of conviction and order of sentence dated 20.09. 2 008 passed by learned Judge, Special Court, M uktsar whereby the appellant w as convicted and sentenced for the offence p u nishable under Section 15 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic S u bstances Act, 1985 (hereinafter referred to as ‘NDPS Act’), in the case stemm i ng from FIR No.76 dated 19.0 5 .2002 registered under Section 15 of NDPS Ac t at Police Station Sadar, Malou t . 2. Th e appellant was sentenced for k e eping in his possession 15 kgs

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of Poppy Husk, as mentioned below:

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Offence	Sentence
Section 15 of the Narcotic	Rigorous imprisonment for a period
Drugs and Psychotropic	of02 y earsand to pay fine of
Substances Act, 1985	Rs.5,000 of fine,t /- and in default of payment o further undergo RI for 03

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MANISHA 2025.05.07 09:46 I attest to the accuracy and authenticiy of this order/judgment

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CRA-S-1984-SB-2008

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2

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months.

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Le a rned Counsel for the appellant s ubmits that he is not assailing the impugned judgment of conviction dated 2 0.09.2008 passed by learned Judge, Special Court, Muktsar on merits and restricts his prayer to modification of the order on quantum of sente n ce dated 20.09.2008 to that of sentence alread y undergone by the appellant. A s per the custody certificate, the appellant h a s undergone a period of 04 mo n ths and 20 days and he is not involved in any other case.

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Pe r contra , learned State couns e l opposes the prayer of the appellant as th e learned Court below has pas s ed a well-reasoned judgment based on correc t appreciation of evidence avail a ble on record as such, he does not deserve any leniency.

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Ha v ing heard learned counsel for the parties and after perusing the record wit h their able assistance, it transpires that the appellant was convicted for b e ing in possession of 15 kgs of P oppy Husk, which falls under the purview of Section 15 of NDPS Act. As p er the custody certificate, the appellant has u ndergone a period of 04 mon t hs and 20 days, out of total sentence of tw o years, in the instant case and h e is not involved in any other case. Since the r e is no minimum punishment p rescribed under Section 15 of NDPS Act, for t he non-commercial quantity thi s Court is of the opinion that it would be in th e interest of justice, if the sente n ce awarded to the appellant is reduced to the period already undergone by him.

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In Deo Narain Mandal vs. State of U.P. (2004) 7 SCC 257 , the Hon'ble Supre m e Court has opined that awar d ing of sentence is not a mere formality in c r iminal cases. When a mini m um and maximum term is

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MANISHA 2025.05.07 09:46 I attest to the accuracy and authenticiy of this order/judgment

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CRA-S-1984-SB-2008

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3

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prescribed by t h e statute with regard to the per i od of sentence, a discretionary element is ves t ed in the Court. Background of each case, which includes factors like gra v ity of the offence, manner in w h ich the offence is committed, age of the acc u sed, should be considered whi l e determining the quantum of sentence and th i s discretion is not to be used a r bitrarily or whimsically. After assessing all re l evant factors, proper sentence should be awarded bearing in mind the prin c iple of proportionality to e n sure the sentence is neither excessively har s h nor does it come across as lenient.

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Fu r ther, the Hon'ble Supreme Cou r t in Ravada Sasikala vs. State of AP AIR 2017 SC 1166 , has reiterated that t h e imposition of sentence also serves a social p urpose as it acts as a deterrent by making the accused realise the damage cau s ed not only to the victim but also to the society at large. The law in this reg a rd is well settled that opport u nities of reformation must be granted and su c h discretion is to be exercis e d by evaluating all attending circumstances o f each case by noticing the nat u re of the crime, the manner in which the crim e was committed and the con d uct of the accused to strike a balance betwee n the efficacy of law and the c hances of reformation of the accused.

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A p erusal of the judgment of co n viction passed by the learned trial Court indi c ates no perversity in its findi n gs and the same is based on correct appreci a tion of evidence available on record. However, the FIR ( supra ) was lo d ged on 19.05.2002 and the ap p ellant has been suffering the agony of trial f o r last about 23 years. Since his conviction, he has grown into law-abiding citi z en and desires to live a peacef u l life.

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MANISHA 2025.05.07 09:46 I attest to the accuracy and authenticiy of this order/judgment

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CRA-S-1984-SB-2008

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4

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Th e refore, in view of the discus s ion above, present appeal is disposed of in t h e following terms:-

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(i) The judgment dated 20.09.200 8 passed by the learned Judge, Sp e cial Court, Muktsar is upheld.

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(ii) The order of sentence dated 2 0.09.2008 is modified to the extent that the sentence of rigoro u s imprisonment for two years an d fine of Rs.5,000/- along with d efault mechanism awarded to the appellant is reduced to the period of sentence already un d ergone by him.

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(HARPREET SINGH BRAR) May 05, 2025 JUDGE manisha (i) Whether speaking/reasoned Yes/No (ii) Whether reportable Yes/No

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MANISHA 2025.05.07 09:46 I attest to the accuracy and authenticiy of this order/judgment

Chamba Singh v. State of Punjab

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Chamba Singh v. State of Punjab

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