After Seizure-Weight Discrepancy, Chhattisgarh HC Reclassifies Ganja Conviction As Intermediate-Quantity Offence, Orders Release After Nearly Six Years If Not Needed In Another Case

On 15 August 2020, police intercepted a car in which Arjun Singh was travelling and found three packets of ganja inside a wooden hand drum.

The initial weighing recorded 10.900 kg of ganja, excluding the drum; a later panchnama recorded the remaining substance in two sacks as totalling 24.150 kg. The sample tested positive for ganja.

The Special Judge convicted Singh under Section 20(b)(ii)(C) of the NDPS Act and sentenced him to ten years’ rigorous imprisonment and a fine of ₹1,00,000.

On appeal under Section 415(2) of the BNSS, Singh did not challenge his guilt under Section 20 but disputed the quantity classification and sought a reduction in sentence.

Section 415(2) of the BNSS provides the appellate basis invoked for the appeal.

Section 20(b)(ii) of the NDPS Act prescribes distinct punishment categories based on the quantity of cannabis involved; the Court applied clause (B) to intermediate quantity and clause (C) to commercial quantity.

No precedent was cited.

The Court accepted the evidence that ganja was found in the vehicle, that Singh was travelling in it, and that the tested sample was ganja; it therefore found no basis to disturb the finding of guilt under Section 20.

However, the prosecution records conflicted: Ex. P-66 recorded 10.900 kg of ganja, while Ex. P-67 recorded 24.150 kg in the two sacks, a discrepancy also reflected in the Investigating Officer’s evidence. Although the discrepancy did not warrant rejecting the prosecution case altogether, the Court concluded that the quantity established was intermediate, not commercial, and accordingly substituted the applicable clause.

Considering the custody undergone and the quantity established, it also found that the sentence should be reduced.

The substantive sentence was reduced to the period already undergone, from 15 August 2020 to the date of the order, and the fine was reduced from ₹1,00,000 to ₹25,000, with three months’ rigorous imprisonment in default. The Court directed Singh’s release forthwith unless required in another case.