Judgment :

Dipak Misra, J.

In this appeal, by special leave, the State of Jammu and Kashmir has called in question the legal propriety of the judgment and order passed in Criminal Appeal Nos. 35 and 36 of 2009 whereby the High Court has converted the conviction recorded by the learned trial Judge holding the accused respondents guilty of the offence punishable under Section 20(b)(ii)(C) of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 (for brevity, “the NDPS Act”) and sentencing each of them to suffer rigorous imprisonment for a period of 12 years and further to pay a fine of Rs.2 lakhs each and in case of default of payment of fine to undergo rigorous imprisonment for period of one year to one under Section 8 read with Section 20(b)(ii)(B) of the NDPS Act and restricted the period of custody to the period already undergone, that is, slightly more than seven years and to pay a fine of Rs.25,000/- each with a modified default clause.

2. The facts which are necessary to be stated are that the accused-respondents were chargesheeted under Section 8 read with Section