New Delhi, Dec 7, 2008 : .The Supreme Court said Tuesday that those involved in smuggling narcotic drugs or psychotropic substances are a danger to society.
It rejected a challenge by a Pakistani national to a Delhi High Court judgement dismissing his plea for concurrent running of sentences in two separate cases .
A bench composed of Justices M.R.Justices M.R.Shah and B.V.Nagarathna stated that those involved in narcotic drug dealing are responsible for inflicting harm on innocent victims.
Such accused causes deleterious effects on the society and they are a hazard to the society, it said.
“Such organised activities of clandestine smuggling of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances into this country and illegal trafficking in such drugs and substances have a deadly impact on the society as a whole,” added Justice Shah, who authored the judgment on behalf of the bench.
The top court said no leniency should be shown to an accused who is found to be guilty for the offence under the NDPS Act.”Therefore, while awarding the sentence or punishment in case of NDPS Act, the interest of the society as a whole is required to be taken into consideration,” it added.
The Delhi High Court had dismissed Mohd Zahid’s contention that he was sentenced to 12 years jail in a case by Amritsar court for recovery of four kg of heroin.Therefore, his subsequent sentence of 15 years jail, for recovery of 750 grams of heroin, by a Delhi court should be allowed to run concurrently, or else he would end up incarcerated for 27 years.
However, the top court held that if a person already undergoing a jail term is sentenced in a subsequent conviction, such a prison term would begin at the expiration of the previous imprisonment.Justice Shah stated that a concurrent sentence cannot be given under Section 427 of the Criminal Procedure Code if there are different transactions, different crimes numbers, and cases have been decided in different judgments.”
Citing section 427 (1) of CrPC, the court stated that it has the power and discretion for the court to direct that all subsequent sentences can be run concurrently with the preceding sentence.
“Therefore, considering the offences under the NDPS Act which are very serious in nature and against the society at large, no discretion shall be exercised in favour of such accused who is indulging into the offence under the NDPS Act,” said the bench.
The bench emphasised that even while applying discretion under Section 427 of the CrPC, the discretion shall not be in favour of the accused who is found to be indulging in illegal trafficking in the narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances.
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