Prolonged Incarceration: Punjab & Haryana High Court Suspends Sentence Of 10 NDPS Accused Citing Article 21

The Punjab and Haryana High Court on Wednesday allowed 10 petitions filed seeking suspension of sentence in cases under the Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 by referring to Article 21 of the Constitution on account of the prolonged incarceration of the petitioners in those matters.

Essentially, 10 NDPS accused were directed to be granted bail after the division bench of Justice Ajay Tewari and Justice Pankaj Jain suspended their sentences. In total, 27 such please were before the Court which sought suspension of sentence in NDPS cases. Regarding the rest 17 pleas, the Court has directed the registry to segregate them and list them for hearing individually.

It may be noted that all 27 cases were bunched together by the Court as the counsel for the States argued that the latest decisions of the Supreme Court had directed that both for bail and for suspension of sentence under the Act the strict parameters of Section 37 had to be met.

On the other hand, the appellant/accused contended that the requirements of Section 37 could not be the only consideration for the grant of bail or suspension of sentence and long incarceration can also be a factor to be considered while dealing with such pleas.

Against this backdrop, while suspending the sentences in 10 pleas before the Court, the Court referred to several landmark decisions of the Supreme Court which emphasized upon the right to a speedy trial, rights of the undertrials, article 21, and bail/suspension of sentence ordered in cases of prolonged incarceration.

The Court also cited several cases wherein the Courts released persons on bail, suspended sentences while taking into account the prolonged custody of the accused sans trial.

Importantly, while relying upon SC's 1994 Judgment [Supreme Court Legal Aid Committee representing Undertrial Prisoners vs. Union of India, 1994(6) SCC 731], wherein it had held that a person who had undergone five years of pre-convict custody was entitled to be released on bail, on the touchstone of Article 21 of the Constitution of India.

The High Court noted that though this judgment related to undertrials and only one time directions were issued, however, the directions in no way can be said to be against the legislative intent but are in furtherance of Article 21 of the Consitution of India. 

Therefore, the Court added, it will also not be inappropriate if similar principles are followed with some variations and modifications in cases relating to convicts who are languishing in jails for the reasons that their appeals are not likely to be heard for a considerable period.

The Court also referred to P&H HC's ruling in the case of Daler Singh vs. State of Punjab, 2006 SCC Online P&H 1591, where the recovery was of 35 kg of poppy husk and the convict had undergone 7 years out of the total sentence of 12 years awarded under the Act.

In this case, a division bench of the Court had suspended the sentence and had also laid down some principles for releasing the convicts under the NDPS Act at the touchstone of Article 21 of the Constitution of India.

Lastly, the Court examined all 27 pleas where the claim for suspension of the sentence was made out on the basis of long custody and disposed them of by the present order, while those where the claim was not supported by long custody were, as stated, segregated and listed for hearing individually.

Importantly, in this case, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has also sought the response of the State Election Commission, Punjab to ensure 'Drug-free Elections' and for this purpose, the Election Commission of India has also been impleaded in the matter.

The Court sought the reply of the Election Commission after observing that the assembly elections for the state of Punjab have already been notified and after taking cognizance of the fact that there have been incidents of 'Drugs for Vote' in elections in Punjab.

Read more about the issue here: Punjab & Haryana High Court Seeks Election Commission's Reply Over Ensuring 'Drug-Free Elections' In Punjab