JAMMU, SEPT 30: A Jammu NDPS court has handed a 10-year rigorous imprisonment term to an Anantnag man after holding him guilty of possessing and transporting 1.5 kilograms of cannabis, a commercial quantity of narcotics, in a case dating back to 2018.
Sajjad Ahmed Bhat, a resident of Lidder Mattoo, Anantnag, was convicted in FIR Number 89/2018 of Police Station Nagrota under Sections 8 and 20 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act. Special Judge (NDPS Cases) Parvaiz Iqbal also imposed a fine of ₹1 lakh on the convict.
The case dates back to April 16, 2018, when police intercepted Bhat at TCP Nagrota on NH-44.
According to the prosecution case, he was travelling from Kashmir towards Jammu in a Scorpio bearing registration number JK22-4299, allegedly carrying the narcotic substance. Police recovered 1.500 kg of cannabis from his conscious possession.
The court treated the recovery as a commercial quantity, bringing the case within the stringent sentencing framework of the NDPS Act.
During arguments on sentence, Special Public Prosecutor Sunil Kumar pressed for stern punishment, highlighting the wider consequences of narcotics trafficking and its impact on society, particularly young people.
The prosecution maintained that the gravity of the offence warranted a substantial custodial sentence.
The defence sought leniency, arguing that Bhat was a first-time offender, had no previous criminal record and had already spent more than five years in custody.
Defence counsel Anwar Saleem also submitted that Bhat was a driver earning his livelihood and was neither a kingpin nor a financier.
The court, after weighing the aggravating and mitigating circumstances, imposed 10 years’ rigorous imprisonment and a ₹1 lakh fine under Section 20 read with Section 8 of the NDPS Act. Failure to pay the fine will attract a further six months’ rigorous imprisonment.
The convict has also been granted the benefit of set-off under Section 428 CrPC, meaning the period already spent in custody will be adjusted against the sentence as permissible under law.
The court ordered that the seized narcotic substance be destroyed after two months, subject to any appellate proceedings.
In a separate direction concerning the Scorpio used in the case, the court ordered its release in favour of the registered owner after finding that the vehicle had allegedly been used without the owner’s consent or connivance.
The order was pronounced on September 30, 2026, bringing the eight-year-old narcotics case to its sentencing stage.
