Punjab & Haryana High Court Upholds Conviction in 250g Opium Case but Reduces Sentence to Period Already Undergone, Citing Long Pendency and Reformative Considerations

Case Name: Gurwinder Singh vs. State of Punjab
Date of Judgment: 02 December 2025
Citation: CRA-S-3305-SB-2012
Bench: Hon’ble Mr. Justice Aman Chaudhary

Held: The Punjab & Haryana High Court affirmed the appellant’s conviction for possession of 250 grams of opium under Section 18 of the NDPS Act but reduced the one-year sentence to the period already undergone, relying on the non-commercial nature of the recovery, the appellant’s clean antecedents, and the prolonged pendency of the matter since 2012.

Summary: The case arose from a 2008 police patrol in which the appellant was apprehended on suspicion and 250 grams of opium were recovered from the right pocket of his trousers. The prosecution examined seven witnesses, including the recovery witnesses, whose consistent testimony led the Trial Court to convict the appellant. Before the High Court, the appellant did not press the challenge to conviction and instead sought reduction of sentence on the basis that he had already undergone more than two months of incarceration, had young children, had never misused bail, and had faced a thirteen-year prosecution.

The State opposed leniency but confirmed the duration of custody undergone. The Court noted that the recovery was non-commercial and that the appellant was a first-time offender. Relying on Supreme Court precedents including S.K. Sakkar @ Mannan and Satish v. State of U.P., the Court emphasised that reformative justice requires a liberal approach for first offenders, particularly in cases involving small quantities and extraordinary delay in conclusion of proceedings.

Decision: The conviction was upheld, but the sentence was modified to the period already undergone, while the fine imposed by the Trial Court was directed to remain intact. The appeal was partly allowed to this limited extent.