Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Sept 13: Principal Sessions Judge Udhampur, A K Koul today awarded 10 years rigorous imprisonment to a charas smuggler namely Farooq Ahmed, son of Khurshid Ahmed of Khandel Dalwas, who was arrested on September 9, 2012 along with more than one kilograms of contraband.
After hearing PP Navneet Gupta appearing for the State whereas Advocate Dinkar Gupta for the accused person, Principal Sessions Judge observed, “prosecution has succeeded in establishing the guilt of the accused”, adding “drug menace is spreading its tentacles through the length and breadth of the country and is posing a great threat to the economy of the nation apart from affecting the health and future of our youth”.
“It is the cardinal rule of process of sentencing that it has to be commensurate with the crime committed. A balance has to be struck between aggravating and mitigating circumstances before awarding the punishment to an accused”, the court said, adding “so far as, NDPS Act, it is a very stringent legislation and the purpose behind the Act is to thwart the drug trafficking activity”.
“The accused in the present case is in the prime of his youth but the crime committed by him is also grave. So he is sentenced to rigorous imprisonment for 10 years”, the court said.