100‑gram Marijuana case drags on for five years, yet sentence ends at just 30 days – A shocking tale

Ranchi (The Uttam Hindu): The process of justice system in Jharkhand's capital Ranchi and the long trial for a small crime has become a topic of discussion these days. A case of recovery of just 100 grams of marijuana went on for five years in the Ranchi court. Finally, the special NDPS court gave its verdict in this case. The court declared the paan shopkeeper guilty, but did not send him back to jail as punishment. The court considered the 30 days of judicial custody already served by the accused as his punishment and ordered his release.

This entire incident dates back to December 2020. Police received a tip-off that marijuana and other narcotics were being sold at a paan shop located at Kathal Mod Chowk in the Nagdi police station area. Based on the information, police raided the shop owned by Karamtoli resident Vimal Bhagat and seized approximately 20 packets of marijuana, weighing approximately 100 grams. Police arrested the accused at the time and sent him to jail. Vimal was granted bail after spending approximately one month (30 days) in jail, but the legal battle continued.

Surprisingly, despite the discovery of such a small quantity of drugs, the trial dragged on for five years. Based on the testimony of numerous witnesses and the FSL report, the court of Special Judge Omkarnath Choudhary found Vimal Bhagat guilty. However, in delivering the verdict, the court adopted a humanitarian approach. The court acknowledged that the accused had no prior criminal history and the quantity of marijuana recovered was small, so he should be given an opportunity to reform. On this basis, the court considered his previous 30-day detention as sufficient punishment.

According to legal experts, this case could have been resolved much earlier. Lawyers say that if the accused had confessed to his crime during the hearing, he would not have faced such a prolonged trial. Generally, in minor NDPS cases, pleading guilty expedites the legal process, but Vimal Bhagat did not do so, resulting in five years of court proceedings for a minor offense.