1 2025:CGHC:43019 NAFR HIGH COURT OF CHHATTISGARH AT BILASPUR CRA No. 1570 of 2025 1 - Mahadev Halba S/o Sukhdev Halba Aged About 23 Years R/o Village Gudnaad, P.S. And District Malkangiri, Odisha 2 - Tularam Samrath S/o Budhram Samrath Aged About 24 Years R/o Village Narayanguda Panchayat Tondki, P.S. And District Malkangiri, Odisha ... Appellants versus 1 - State of Chhattisgarh, Through- P.S. Chhindgarh, District Sukma, C.G. ... Respondent For Appellants : Mr. Vikas Patel, Advocate on behalf of Mr. P.K. Tulsyan, Advocate For Respondent : Ms. Priya Sharma, P.L. Hon'ble Shri Justice Sanjay Kumar Jaiswal Judgment on Board 25/08/2025 1 The present appeal under Section 415(2) of B.N.S.S., 2023 has been filed challenging the judgment of conviction and order of sentence dated 21.07.2025 passed by learned Special Judge (NDPS Act), South Bastar Dantewada (C.G.), in Special (NDPS Act) Case No.21/2024 whereby the appellants have been convicted and sentenced as under : Digitally signed by HEERA LAL SAHU Date: 2025.08.26 10:32:26 +0530 2 Conviction Sentence U/s 20(b)(ii)(B) of the NDPS Act Rigorous imprisonment for 7 years each, with fine of Rs.50,000/-, in default of payment of fine amount, additional R.I. for 6 months each. 2 The case of prosecution, in short, is that on 22.09.2024, the police of the police station Chhindgarh apprehended a vehicle bearing registration No. CG-18/P/4633, in which the appellants were travelling, and during the search, 5.220 Kgs, contraband i.e. Ganja, was recovered from the joint possession of the appellants. After due procedure and investigation charge sheet was filed against the present appellants. 3 So as to hold the appellants guilty, the prosecution has examined as many as 11 witnesses and exhibited 56 documents. The statements of the appellants were also recorded under Section 313 of the Cr.P.C. in which they denied the circumstances appearing against them and pleaded innocence and false implication in the case. 4 The trial Court, taking into consideration the evidences which have come on record, vide impugned judgment dated 21.07.2025 found the appellants guilty for the offence punishable under Section 20(b)(ii)(B) of NDPS Act and accordingly, convicted and sentenced them under the said Section as mentioned in paragraph-1 of this judgment leading to the filing of this appeal. 5 Learned counsel for the appellants submits that he is not pressing the appeal so far as it relates to the conviction part of the judgment and would confine his argument to the sentence part thereof only. According to him, appellant Mahadev Halba was in jail from 22.09.2024 to 01.05.2025 during trial and from 21.07.2025 till date; appellant Tularam Samrath is in jail from 22.09.2024 till date, the 3 maximum sentence imposed upon the appellant is 7 years, out of which appellant Mahadev Halba has already served the jail sentence of about 8 months and 13 days and appellant Tularam Samrath has already served the jail sentence of 11 months and 4 days. Appellant Mahadev Halba has no criminal antecedent. Hence, considering all these facts, the sentence imposed upon the appellants may be reduced to the period already undergone by them. 6 Per contra, learned counsel appearing for the State, supporting the impugned judgment, opposed the arguments advanced on behalf of the counsel for appellants and submits that appellant Tularam Samrath has 1 criminal antecedent of the year 2013. 7 Heard learned counsel for the parties and perused the record. 8 Having gone through the material available on record and the statements of P. Ramkumar (PW-1), Sharish Nag (PW- 6), Smt. Dhaneshwari Verma (PW-7), Shekh Sarif Siddiqui (PW-8), Aasman Manjhi (PW-9), Chandan Singh Negi (PW- 11) and the proceedings conducted by the Investigating Officer Seraj Khan (PW-10), the involvement of the appellants in the crime in question is clearly established. Thus, considering the oral and documentary evidence on record the seizure of narcotic substance from the possession of the accused/appellants which was subsequently found to be ‘Ganja’ as per FSL report Ex.P- 55. This Court does not find any illegality in the findings recorded by the Trial Court as regards conviction of the appellants for the offence punishable under Section 20(b)(ii) (B) of the NDPS Act. 9 As regards sentence, in the matter of Mohammad Giasuddin v. State of Andhra Pradesh reported in (1977) 3 SCC 287, Hon’ble Supreme Court has observed that if 4 you are to punish a man retributively, you must injure him. If you are to reform him, you must improve him and, men are not improved by injuries and held in para-9 as follows: “9. Western jurisprudes and 'sociologists, from their own angle have struck a like note. Sir Samual Romilly, critical of the brutal penalties in the then Britain, said in 1817 : "The laws of England are written in blood". Alfieri has suggested : 'society prepares the crime, the criminal commits it’. George Nicodotis, Director of Criminological Research Centre, Athens, Greece, maintains that 'Crime is the result of the lack of the right kind of education.' It is thus plain that crime is a pathological aberration, that the criminal can ordinarily be redeemed, that the State has to rehabilitate rather than avenge. The sub-culture that leads to anti-social behaviour has to be countered not by undue cruelty but by re- culturisation. Therefore, the focus of interest in penology is the individual, and goal is salvaging him for society. The infliction of harsh and savage punishment is thus a relic of past and regressive times. The human today views sentencing as a process of reshaping a person who has deteriorated into criminality and the modern community has a primary stake in the rehabilitation of the offender as a means of social defense. We, therefore consider a therapeutic, rather than an in 'terrorem' outlook, should prevail in our criminal courts, since brutal incarceration of the person merely produces laceration of his mind. In the words of George Bernard Shaw : 'If you are to punish a man retributively, you must injure him. If you are to reform him, you must improve him and, men are not improved by injuries'. We may permit ourselves the liberty to quote from Judge Sir Jeoffrey Streatfield : “If you are going to have anything to do with the criminal Courts, you should see for yourself the conditions under which prisoners serve their sentences.” 10 In the light of the decision of the Supreme Court in the case of Mohammad Giasuddin (supra) and keeping in view the fact that appellant No. 1- Mahadev Halba was in jail from 5 22.09.2024 to 01.05.2025 during trial and from 21.07.2025 till date; appellant No. 2- Tularam Samrath is in jail from 22.09.2024 till date, appellant Mahadev Halba has already served the jail sentence of about 8 months and 13 days and appellant Tularam Samrath has already served the jail sentence of 11 months and 4 days, as per arrest memo appellant No. 1 has studied upto 2nd class, appellant No. 2 is illiterate and they are labourer. Also considering the facts and circumstances of the case, this Court is of the opinion that the ends of justice would serve if the appellants are sentenced to the period already undergone by them. 11 Accordingly, the conviction of the appellants under Section 20(b)(ii)(B) of the NDPS Act is maintained, but their jail sentence is reduced to the period already undergone by them i.e. 8 months and 13 days by appellant Mahadev Halba and 11 months and 4 days by appellant Tularam Samrath. However, the fine of Rs. 50,000/- imposed upon each the appellants by the Trial Court shall remain intact. 12 Consequently, the appeal is allowed in part to the extent indicated herein-above. 13 The appellants are reported to be in jail. If there is no need to detain the appellants in the default of fine amount, they be released forthwith if not required in any other case. 14 Record of the trial Court along with a copy of this judgment be sent back forthwith for compliance and necessary action, if any. A copy of the judgment may also be sent to the concerned Jail Superintendent wherein the appellants are suffering the jail sentence. Sd/- (Sanjay Kumar Jaiswal) JUDGE H.L. Sahu