Ranchi: In a significant judgment under the NDPS Act, the court of AJC–18 and Special NDPS Judge Kuldeep Kumar on Saturday pronounced its verdict in the case Union of India vs Abhishek Kumar/ Avshek Kumar. The court held both accused, Abhishek Kumar and Vivek Kumar, guilty and sentenced each of them to 12 years of rigorous imprisonment.
The court also imposed a fine of ₹1 lakh under each applicable section of the NDPS Act, taking the total fine to ₹3 lakh per convict. Both were found guilty under three sections. In case of failure to pay the fine, the convicts will have to undergo an additional one year of simple imprisonment each.
During the hearing on the point of sentence, both convicts were produced before the court through video conferencing from jail. After hearing arguments from the defence and the special public prosecutor, the court awarded punishment under Sections 20(b)(ii)(C), 25 and 29 of the NDPS Act. The court clarified that all sentences will run concurrently and the period already spent in judicial custody will be adjusted against the sentence period.
The court also directed both convicts to furnish personal bonds of ₹1 lakh each for a period of three years under Section 34 of the NDPS Act, directing them to refrain from committing similar offences in the future. The seized contraband was ordered to be confiscated under Sections 60 and 63 of the NDPS Act.
Special Public Prosecutor Kumar Vashishtha Prasad informed that on 18 May 2022, a team of the , Jamshedpur, conducted a late-night raid near Rampur under the area and recovered 204 kg of ganja from a truck. Both accused were the truck drivers and were arrested on the spot. They have remained in judicial custody since then.
During the trial, the prosecution examined six witnesses. After issuance of the sentence warrant, both convicts were sent to to serve their sentence.
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