Page No.# 1/3 GAHC010173332025 undefined THE GAUHATI HIGH COURT (HIGH COURT OF ASSAM, NAGALAND, MIZORAM AND ARUNACHAL PRADESH) Case No. : I.A.(Crl.)/843/2025 HIRA KUMAR AND ANR. S/O. BHULU RAY, R/O. JETHULI, P/O. KACHCHI DARGAR, P/S. PATWA, DIST. PATNA, BIHAR. 2: RATAN LASKAR S/O. LT. SUSHIL LASKAR R/O. VILL.- KHEJUR BAGAN P/O. KATHAL BEGAN P/S. NEW CAPITAL COMPLEX DIST. WEST AGARTALA TRIPURA PIN-799006 VERSUS THE UNION OF INDIA REP. BY THE PP, ASSAM. Advocate for the Petitioner : MR. T HUSSAIN, MR. Y S MANNAN Advocate for the Respondent : PP, ASSAM, BEFORE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE MANISH CHOUDHURY ORDER Date : 07-08-2025 Heard Mr. T. Hussain, learned counsel for the applicants-appellants and Page No.# 2/3 Mr. R.R. Kaushik, learned Additional Public Prosecutor for the opposite party no. 1, State of Assam. 2. The instant application under Section 5 of the Limitation Act, 1963 is preferred seeking condonation of delay of 38 days, which period of delay is stated to have occurred in preferring the accompanying criminal appeal under Section 415, Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023. The applicant as the appellant has preferred the accompanying criminal appeal to assail a Judgment dated 29.03.2025 and an Order on Sentence dated 01.04.2025 passed by the Court of learned Additional Sessions Judge No. 1, Kamrup [M] at Guwahati in NDPS Case no. 68/2021. By the Judgment and Order on Sentence, the applicant-appellants have been convicted for the offence under Section 20[b][ii] [C] read with Section 29 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances [NDPS] Act, 1985. The applicants-appellants have been sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for 10 [ten] years and to pay a fine of Rs. 1,00,000/- each, in default of payment of fine, to undergo rigorous imprisonment for 3 months. 3. Mr. Kaushik, learned Additional Public Prosecutor appearing for the State has submitted that since the applicants-appellants have been sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for 10 years, interest of justice would be better sub-served if the accompanying criminal appeal is heard on merit. 4. I have gone through the statements and averments made in the instant interlocutory application, more particularly, paragraph 5 & 6 thereof. 5. Having gone through the same, this Court is of the view that the applicants-appellants have been able to explain the reason for delay with Page No.# 3/3 sufficient cause. Moreover, as the applicants-appellants have been sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for 10 years, this Court is of the further view interest of justice would be better sub-served if the accompanying appeal is heard on merits, after condoning the period of delay. 6. Accordingly, the instant application seeking condonation of delay of 38 days stands allowed. 7. The Registry to register the appeal and thereafter, to list the appeal for admission. JUDGE Comparing Assistant