Virender Singh, J.

1. The plight of convicts languishing in jails, after conviction, during the pendency of the appeals, on account of previous fixture of work has always been a matter of great concern for the Courts and of the protagonists of Human Rights, alike. The present case is also of the like nature.

2. Applicant-appellant Daler Singh is praying for suspension of substantive sentence awarded to him under section 15 of the Narcotic Drugs & Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 (for short the Act) primarily on the ground that he has by now already undergone more than seven years of his sentence out of the awarded substantive sentence of 12 years and that besides that the appeal is not likely to be heard in near future.

3. Not only the present appeal but also a large number of other appeals filed by the convicts under the Act which are not likely to be taken up in near future, has attracted our attention and therefore, we are framing certain guidelines/policy for the grant of bail where the appeals against the conviction under the Act filed in this Court cannot be heard within a reasonable time.

4. We have heard Mr. K.S.Dhaliwal, learned counsel for the applicant-appellant