Vajja Srinivasu Alias Srinu vs State Of A.P.

The Supreme Court, while addressing the quantum of sentence under Section 20(b)(i) of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985, held that the maximum punishment is five years of rigorous imprisonment and a fine of Rs. 50,000. The Court noted the appellant's age of 21 years at the time of the charge and, despite the inapplicability of the Probation of Offenders Act, decided to reduce the sentence to one year of rigorous imprisonment while maintaining the fine of Rs. 3,000. The Court emphasized that this reduction serves the ends of justice.