The court ruled that a sentence may be suspended if the recovered contraband is below commercial quantity and the appellant was on bail during the trial.

ORDER :

MANOJ KUMAR GARG, J.

1. Heard.

2. Admit. Issue Notice.

3. Learned AAG accepts notice on behalf of respondent - State.

4. Heard on application for suspension of sentence No.321/2025.

5. Upon a consideration of the arguments advanced by the appellant(s) and having regard to the facts and circumstances of the case including the fact that the recovered contraband was below commercial quantity. The appellant(s) was/were on bail during the trial and hearing of the appeal is likely to take time, therefore, this court is of the opinion that it is a fit case for suspending the sentence awarded to the accused appellant(s).

6. Accordingly, the application for suspension of sentence filed under Section 430 (2) BNSS is allowed and it is ordered that the sentence passed by the learned Special Judge, NDPS Act Cases, District Hanumangarh vide judgment dated 10.02.2025 in Sessions Case No.33/2018 against the appellant-applicant(s) – 1. Mani Singh S/o Shri Gurdev Singh and 2. Smt. Amarjeet Kaur W/o Shri Mani Singh shall remain suspended till final disposal of the appeal and he/she/they shall be released on bail provided he/she/they executes a personal bond in the sum of Rs.1,00,000/- with two sureties of Rs.50,000/- each to the satisfaction of the learned trial Judge for his/her/their appearance in this court on 15.04.2025 and whenever ordered to do so till the disposal of the appeal on the conditions indicated below:-

1. That he/she/they will appear before the trial Court in the month of January of every year till the appeal is decided.

2. That if the applicant changes the place of residence, he/she/they will give in writing his/her/their changed address to the trial Court as well as to the counsel in the High Court.

3. Similarly, if the sureties change their address, they will give in writing their changed address to the trial Court.

7. The learned trial Court shall keep the record of attendance of the accused-applicant(s) in a separate file. Such file be registered as Criminal Misc. Case related to original case in which the accused-applicant(s) was/were tried and convicted. A copy of this order shall also be placed in that file for ready reference. Criminal Misc. file shall not be taken into account for statistical purpose relating to pendency and disposal of cases in the trial court. In case the said accused applicant(s) do not appear before the trial court, the learned trial Judge shall report the matter to the High Court for cancellation of bail.