LAWS(DLH)-2007-9-14

JATINDER DEV ALIAS BHOLA Vs. STATE OF DELHI

Decided On September 05, 2007
JATINDER DEV @ BHOLA Appellant
V/S
STATE Respondents

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This appeal has been preferred against the Judgment dated 24th September, 2003 whereby the appellant was convicted under Section 21(C) of NDPS Act and order dated 23rd December, 2003 whereby the appellant was sentenced to undergo 11 years and a fine of Rs.1 lac, in default to further undergo one year RI.

(2.) Learned counsel for the appellant submits that the appellant has already undergone 10 years RI and he does not press the appeal against conviction of the appellant and confine his arguments on quantum of sentence and prays that the sentence be reduced to already undergone and the fine be waived of or the additional period already undergone by him beyond 10 years be considered as imprisonment against fine.

(3.) Learned Counsel for the appellant cited judgments, showing that this Court and the Supreme Court in other similar cases have reduced the quantum of sentence. He relied upon 2003(3) JCC 1631 M. Prabhulal v. The Assistant Director, Directorate of Revenue Intelligence, wherein in a case under Section 21 of the N.D.P.S. Act, the learned Sessions Court had awarded sentence of RI for ten years and fine of Rs.1 lac. The conviction and sentence were upheld by the Supreme Court. Learned counsel for the appellant argued that in this case, the recovery was of 66 kg of heroin. The other judgment relied upon by counsel for the appellant is of this Court wherein the appellant was sentenced to undergo RI for 15 years and fine on recovery of 27 kg of heroin by Sessions Court and this Court, while upholding the conviction imposed, the minimum sentence of 10 years and fine. He also relied upon another order dated 3rd October, 2006 where the Sessions Court had convicted the appellant for recovery of 60 kg of heroin and sentenced him to undergo RI for 12 years and fine of Rs.1 lac and this Court had reduced the sentence to 10 years and four months, which was already undergone.