In all probability, his entire sentence would be undergone by time appeal is heard, says SC while suspending sentence
Dec 09, 2021
New Delhi [India], December 9 : The Supreme Court on Thursday suspended the sentence of a man accused of possessing 1kg of heroin, observing that in all probability, his entire sentence would be undergone by the time appeal is heard. The accused has already undergone eight out of ten years of his total sentence.
The Bench of Justices DY Chandrachud and AS Bopanna said, "We accordingly allow the appeal and set aside the impugned order of the High Court. The sentence of the appellant shall remain suspended under Section 389 Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), subject to such terms and conditions as may be imposed by the Special Judge, NDPS, Patiala House Courts, New Delhi. The appellant would cooperate in the expeditious disposal of the appeal and shall not apply for adjournment when the matter is taken up."
The court said that it appreciates the submission of the Additional Solicitor General that offences under the NDPS Act are of a serious nature and the case is at the post-conviction stage.
"Yet the court cannot be unmindful of the fact that the appellant has undergone eight years out of the total sentence of ten years. The appeal is unlikely to be heard early. In all probability, the entire sentence would have been undergone by the time the appeal is heard," the court said.
"The decisions on the basis of which the High Court of Delhi has declined to grant suspension of sentence, are, at the highest, a broad guideline and cannot be placed on the same pedestal as a statutory interdict. With the pendency of the work in the High Court, it may not be feasible to expedite the disposal of the appeal within a short period," the court said.
The appellant Mossa Koya KP has been denied a suspension of sentence under Section 389 of the Code of Criminal Procedure 1973 by a Single Judge of the High Court of Delhi by the impugned order dated 18 May 2021.
Mossa Koya KP was represented by advocate Tanya Agarwal.
An FIR was lodged against the appellant for offences punishable under Sections 21, 29, 61 and 85 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances
Act 1985 at Police Station Special Cell on 18/19 November 2013. Besides the appellant, two other co-accused were named. The appellant and another co-accused were charged with joint possession of 1 kg of heroin, recovered from a hotel room in Udaipur. The appellant and another co-accused were also charged for conspiracy under Section 29 of the NDPS Act.
The appellant was convicted under Section 29 of the NDPS Act and was sentenced to rigorous imprisonment for ten years and a fine of Rs 1,00,000 with a default sentence.
The appellant has filed an appeal through the Legal Aid Cell before the High Court and applied for suspension of sentence. By the impugned order dated 18 May 2021, the single judge has declined to allow a suspension of sentence on the ground that the appellant had not completed fifteen months in Jail after the order of conviction was passed.
The High Court noted that, as a matter of fact, according to the nominal roll dated 18 February 2021, he had undergone seven years and two months in custody.
