New Delhi: Persons dealing in narcotic drugs are instruments in causing death to innocent vulnerable victims and merely because an accused is a poor man and sole bread earner cannot be a mitigating factor to give him lesser punishment, the Supreme Court said.
A bench of D Y Chandrachud and M R Shah said while awarding the sentence or punishment in case of Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, the interest of the society as a whole is required to be taken in consideration.
“Organised activities of the underworld and the clandestine smuggling of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances into this country and illegal trafficking in such drugs and substances shall lay to drug addiction among a sizeable section of the public, particularly the adolescents and students of both sexes, and the menace has assumed serious and alarming proportions in the recent years,” the bench said.
The observation came on an appeal filed by Gurdev Singh challenging a decision of the Punjab and Haryana High Court confirming the conviction and sentence for the offence punishable under Section 21 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act and sentenced the accused to undergo 15 years imprisonment and pay a fine of Rs 2 lakh.
Read:Rahul Gandhi suspends political rallies in Bengal amid rising COVID-19 cases
The counsel for the accused had submitted that the punishment of 15 years is admittedly higher than the minimum term of imprisonment of 10 years and neither the special court nor the high court have assigned any reasons.