Anantnag Court Sentences Five to 10 Years and Rs 1 Lakh Fine in Drug Case

Anantnag: In a landmark ruling under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, the District and Sessions Court Anantnag on Thursday convicted five persons — a husband-wife couple among them — to 10 years of hard imprisonment and a fine of Rs 1 lakh each for possession and sale of commercial quantity of contraband.
The accused — Mohammad Rafiq Bhat, his wife Mubeena Banoo, Anayat Ullah Bhat, Aijaz Ahmad Bhat (all locals of Soaf Shali Kokernag), and Sajad Ahmad Ganie (local of Hangal Gund Kokernag) — were convicted under Section 8/20(c) read with Section 29 of the NDPS Act in FIR No. 63/2022 of Police Station Kokernag. The case was regarding illegal possession and attempt to sell 5 kilograms of charas.

Principal Sessions Judge Manzoor Ahmad, while delivering the sentence on May 15, 2025, reiterating the serious social consequences of drug trafficking, acknowledged that while the offence incurs a minimum of 10 and a maximum of 20 years imprisonment, the court has also considered the mitigating circumstances including no previous criminal record, no use of violence, and good behavior in custody.

The judgment was pronounced through video conferencing with the convicts being produced from District Jail Bhaderwah and Central Jail Srinagar, where they will remain to serve the rest of their sentence. In lieu of the payment of fine, the convicts will be sentenced to an additional one-year rigorous imprisonment.

The court has also directed that the time already undergone in custody during investigation and trial will be adjusted against the overall sentence. A duplicate of the judgment and sentence has been given to the convicts and sent to the respective District Magistrate as per law.