Woman gets three-month jail term for possessing cannabis

A woman has been sent to three months in jail for possessing 1.5 kgs cannabis by a Delhi court which took a lenient view considering her poor background and the period spent in judicial custody during the trial.
Special Judge (NDPS) Narinder Kumar, while sentencing Ghaziabad resident Noorjahan, also imposed a fine of Rs 500 on her and said, "The period of imprisonment already undergone during investigation, inquiry and trial to be set off against the period of sentence awarded."
"Having regard to all the facts and circumstances of the case, including the quantity of the contraband--1.5 kgs of cannabis (ganja)--recovered from her, that she is a poor lady and that she remained in custody from October 8, 2014 to December 4, 2014, she is sentenced to rigorous imprisonment for a period of three months...," the court said while imposing the fine.

Holding Noorjahan guilty, the judge said that "in view of the cogent and convincing evidence led by the prosecution, this court finds the prosecution has fully established that the accused was arrested on October 8,2014 and found in possession of 1.5 kilograms of cannabis."
"As a result, this court holds her guilty of the offence under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act. She is convicted thereunder," it said.
The court refused to agree with the contention of the counsel of the accused that that there was possibility of tampering with the case property.
"From the report of the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL), it stands established that the contents of the sample analysed were ganja (cannabis). This supports the prosecution version that the substance recovered from the accused was the contraband substance ganja," it said.

According to the prosecution, on October 8, 2014, near Jama Masjid, a police patrolling party apprehended Noorjahan with a black colour bag from which 1.5 kgs cannabis was recovered.