The Sentence Is Suspended Because The Appeal Cannot Be Reached

The conviction

The applicants were convicted by the Special Judge, Kinnaur Sessions Division at Rampur Bushahr, in September 2024, in a case registered at Police Station Anni under Sections 20 and 29 of the NDPS Act.

Each was sentenced to rigorous imprisonment for ten years and a fine of Rs 1,00,000 under Section 20, with a year's simple imprisonment in default, and to a further ten years and a like fine under Section 29.

They applied for suspension of sentence pending their appeals.

The arguments the Court recorded

Counsel pointed to the NCB-I form, where the officer filled the columns and signed on 17 June 2022, yet entered the date of dispatch to the police station as 18 June 2022 — which, it was argued, showed the documents were prepared at the police station.

It was argued that the specimen seal impression bore no FIR number and a manipulated date; that the parcel produced in court carried no National Emblem seal of the kind the Magistrate had affixed under Section 52A; that the contraband was everywhere described as sticks and round balls but a police witness admitted in cross-examination that what was shown in court was in stick shape only; and that two daily diary entries bore the same recording time to the second.

It was also argued that the officer who issued the certificate under Section 65B of the Evidence Act for the photographs was posted at a different unit and could not have had lawful control over the printer at Police Station Anni. The Additional Advocate General answered that the blank column and the date correction were inadvertent and inconsequential, that the photographs clearly showed the accused and the contraband, and that Section 52A had been properly complied with.

What the Court decided

Taking into consideration the rival contentions, the Court was of the considered view that as the appeals are likely to be heard after a considerable long time, a case is made out for suspension of sentence.

The substantive sentences were suspended during the pendency of the appeals, subject to a personal bond of Rs 2,00,000 each with one surety in the like amount, with an undertaking to appear before the Court when directed and, if the appeals are dismissed, to surrender and serve the remaining sentence.

During the suspension the appellants must not involve themselves in any illegal or unlawful act, much less a similar offence; any such involvement will result in cancellation. The Court recorded that no expression of opinion in the order is to be read as an opinion on the merits of the case.

Who argued it

Frequently asked

Can a ten-year NDPS sentence be suspended during appeal?

Yes. Here it was suspended because the appeals were unlikely to be heard for a considerable time.

Does suspension mean the conviction was found to be wrong?

No. The Court expressly said nothing in the order is an opinion on the merits.

Applying for suspension of sentence in a long-pending appeal

1. Lead with the listing position — how many older appeals are pending ahead of yours is the argument that succeeded here.
2. Set out the record's gaps concretely: dates, seals, and the chain from seizure to the courtroom.
3. Check who signed the Section 65B certificate and whether that person actually controlled the device.
4. Be ready to accept substantial bond and surety conditions; the relief came with them.

Source. High Court of Himachal Pradesh at Shimla, Cr. M.P. Nos. 545 and 1379 of 2026, decided 8 September 2026 by Justice HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE VIVEK SINGH THAKUR, Justice HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE RANJAN SHARMA. This explainer is written from the judgment text as reported.

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