Order of death sentence in drugs case sent back to lower court

The Bombay High Court today sent the case of a Kashmiri national who had been awarded death penalty under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act for a second conviction back to the lower court for reconsideration. This follows a recent order passed by another bench of the High Court holding the provision in NDPS Act which makes death sentence mandatory for a repeat offence as unconstitutional. Section 31 A of the Act prescribes death sentence if a person is convicted for the second time for "engaging in production, manufacture, possession, transportation, import and export of narcotic drugs or psychotropic substances". "In view of this High Court order, the case is referred back to the special NDPS court for reconsideration. The lower court is directed to decide the matter within two months," division bench of Justices B H Marlapalle and U D Salvi said. The court was hearing the confirmation petition of Ghulam Malik, who was given the death penalty in August 2008 after his second conviction. On June 17, another bench, dealing with a different case, held that the mandatory death sentence for a repeat offence violated Article 21 of the Constitution which gives the right to life.