drugs

JGLS Sonepat has asked two of its third-year law students to explain why they should not be suspended or expelled from the law school, after the Indian Express reported that they had been arrested by the Haryana police on Sunday for allegedly possessing nearly 1 kg of hashish, with a reported street value of around Rs 1.3 lakh.

A Delhi court held that in cases of drug peddling, the real drug sourcers go scot free, whereas the suppliers, who are invariably poor people, get caught.

The court said this while awarding 10 years jail to two men convicted under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act.

“It is generally noticed that in such cases where drugs are supplied to consumers, the main drug peddlers go scot free and the conduit used by such peddlers, who are invariably poor people get caught,” said Special Judge Ajay Kumar Kuhar.

“In the present case, Saidul Islam and Mekail Sheikh (convicts) were the carriers, who became part and parcel of the conspiracy to deal in the supply and transportation of narcotic and psychotropic substances,” the court said, sentencing them to 10 years rigorous imprisonment.

It also slapped a fine of Rs 1 lakh each on the accused.

According to the prosecution, Islam and Sheikh were arrested in August 2011 in south Delhi and police recovered 3 kg and 2 kilogram of heroin respectively from their possession.

The order was delivered last week but was released to the media on Monday.

The Supreme Court wants to know what happens to seized contraband across India, following allegations by former justice Ajit Kumar Sinha that only five to 10 per cent of it was destroyed, reported The Telegraph.

A Supreme Court bench of justices TS Thakur and NV Ramana were hearing the government’s appeal against the Punjab and Haryana high court’s acquittal of a drug peddler.

Sinha, who was appointed as the friend of the court, said that although authorities seized drugs such as Ganja, Hashish, Heroine, Ecstacy and other substances, worth hundreds of crores of rupees every day, only five to 10 per cent of it was destroyed. He also gave the instance of Calcutta where there was no record of how seized contraband was dealt with.

The judges asked solicitor general Ranjit Kumar to place before the court the steps being taken in Delhi to dispose of such contraband, within a week. They asked Kumar if any “drug disposal committee” had been set up in Delhi which was under the control of the central government, for law and order.

The WSJ India Real Time has written a great post explaining how exactly bhang – a milky, sweet drink laced with cannabis, traditionally consumed today for the Holi festival – is legal.

INJUSTICE IN JUSTICE

Chapter-III

Part I containing chapters I and II is here.

It wasn’t a lot of work. Vijay had to take a parcel from Paharganj and drop it at Chandni Chowk twice every week. He would be paid six thousand rupees every month. That was a lot of money. Vijay was happy with but over time, he started to feel inquisitive about why he was being paid so much and what was in the parcel.

One day, after completing his work, he went to Faraz to find answers. The answers left him speechless. The parcel contained acid pills, a high class drug which hits the central nervous system. This drug made people dream of heaven and took them to hell.

He wanted to quit this job now, but there was no way out. He knew that he was doing a wrong thing, but that was responsible for getting him the right things in his life. He wasn’t sure if he was to thank Faraz or blame him. But he knew one thing: if he had to survive this was his only way out. He needed happiness even if it was in the form of hallucination, his requiem for a dream.

In a matter of few months, in search for more jazz up his brain, he tried and continued with a lot more things. Diluter, hashish, speed, ecstasy, acid and heroine. More wants required more money. Now the school fee wasn’t the only concern. Once again, he turned to his old friend, Faraz for more money.

He did not dislike these things; instead he started liking them as these were the only things that never left him. Like a task which needs to be completed, and missions which need to be accomplished. These things gave him a life to be lived. He was to supply drugs to different consumers now. More of a drug peddling service than a courier boy work now.

Chapter IV

He was sitting at his place on a hot summer night. He had somehow managed to pass 12^th grade. He was ready to join a law college in Delhi, make new friends and enjoy his life. Never had he thought that all this was never going to happen.

There was a knock at the door. Vijay was surprised; hardly anyone knocked at his doors other than the salesmen or the old lady next door who seldom used to come to his house to check for his wellbeing. All this used to happen at the day time. It couldn’t be a friend. He used to have a lot many of them during the brighter days. But when his life became dark, friends too had stopped coming.

Moments later to his shock he realized that the police was at the door. He did not try to run away. He just walked away with them, without speaking a word. As if he knew everything. Life had taught so much to him. It skipped the lessons that taught how life can handle unequal shares of good and bad but that in strict equality lies law’s justice.

CHAPTER-V

Exactly two years after his parents death he stood before the court of law aware of the mistake made by him. At this juncture of life, the law was ready to punish him. But where were law and the society when he needed help, when he chose this path?

Was it bad to be an anti-social element when the social elements are anti-you. Endless questions with no answers told the story of the boy Vijaynath, who wanted to celebrate life . But instead he had to take all the pains. Was it his fault or of the circumstances? He himself couldn’t find any answers. On the day of the verdict in the court he only said: “I was never like this”.

He knew what was going on and he knew he was responsible for it, but he also knew that destitution and loneliness left him no choice. He was not angry with the court’s verdict. But he was sure that the lack of understanding by law of the society and its effect on people was ‘injustice in justice’.

Injustice in Justice

Chapter I

“I was never like this” were the words of the twenty year old boy Vijaynath. He could speak no more although a lot was expected to be said. He had been sentenced to 7 years of imprisonment for drug trafficking under the NDPS Act.

Two years ago, he was just another school going kid preparing for CLAT. On the night of Diwali, 14^th October, 2005 his life changed forever. He had come back to his room when the thought of switching on the TV came to his mind. This was his first Diwali without his parents who had left the town to meet his aunt.

Everything seemed to be going well with friends at his place ready to brighten the night already illumined by candles and fire crackers. His parents were on their way back to Delhi from Kanpur. He never really watched TV on Diwalis.

But just as he was going through the channels, his eyes started stinging, unable to see, his hands started shaking, paralyzed. The news flashed on every news channel. The Air India flight from Kanpur to Delhi had crashed midway at Roorhki. None of the passengers in the aircraft had survived. His parents, the affluent Damannath and Devinanath were on that plane.

Looking outside the window his eyes witnessed the story his heart refused to believe. The silent candles looked remorseful and fire crackers shrieked with grief.

CHAPTER II

The next day a plethora of people came to his house. Some were well wishers who wished him well. Others were well wishers who in hearts wished him unwell. Many were selfishly concerned about their own interests after his parent’s death.

The share holders of his father’s company held their claim, leaving behind little for Vijay. With no one to support him, the young boy had no way of making the business run. Initially the money that was left was able to sustain him for some time. But then another blow of life, that of destitution left him hopeless.

Dialogues from the Hindi movies became monologues, his monologues. There was a house but no home. There were rooms with no people. Helplessness became his day, loneliness his night. The candle was still burning though, melting away the wax which held his life to the spine.

There was no way he could support his life with such little resources. And the fact that he was just in 12th grade with no experience made him more helpless.

Leave alone the payment of his expenses and school fee, maintaining the house itself was proving undoable. Never had he realized that money and family were of such value. His other family members refused to show their faces after a few months as they knew that it was better not to know the liability that he was.

When the time of fee payment came up he knew he couldn’t pay the amount. This incident made him nervous. But he didn’t want to quit on it. He wanted to study and do well in life but to do this he needed money.

This is when he met Faraz. There was not much common between the two guys. Vijay was a school going kid where as Faraz was a soon to be college dropout. But there was something in Faraz that attracted Vijay to him.

Faraz had all the time in the world to loiter around schools and colleges and spend loads of money on loads of things. This very fact intrigued Vijay. Vijay met Faraz on his way back from school at the Chandni Chowk red light. Not the best place for a conversation but that was the place.

As time passed by, their friendship became much more than a mere acquaintance.  This is when Vijay sought Faraz’s help to get him work. Vijay knew Faraz could help him. As the day of the fee payment came closer, any kind of work seemed right to Vijay as long as it paid him well enough. Faraz had a deal for him. The deal that would change his life forever.

To be continued…

Author: Thakur

Editor: LegalPoet

Not many people here will know who Nitish Saxena is. But with nearly 850 facebook friends and many more in real existence, he is a popular chap. Add to that some amazingly deft hands at painting, an articulate mouth which shuts every other and a great brain at work; Nitish Saxena makes for an interesting profile.

Presently in 2^nd year at UILS (University Institute of Legal Studies) of PU (Punjab University), he is doing enough to put the slackers at NLUs to shame. Here is his story:

CLAT

For Nitish preparing for CLAT never felt like carrying a burden but was like a trip meant to be enjoyed, a breezy journey in which he learnt from all; the LST modules, the tutors and his classmates. He kept is cup empty and it got filled; every time.

Clutter and Struggle

Alas! It seemed he should have had more helpings of the drink in the cup. With a rank of 442 in CLAT he had the option of GNLU, an option he had never thought upon. NLS, NALSAR, NUJS were the words he had sworn by. However, he still felt the uncontrollable urge to grab an NLU seat; as strong as the need of a drowning man for Oxygen.

Oxygen! Inhale!

But Nitish Saxena grew gills. Also, fresh air came through an expected quarter. With a rank 3 in the PU’s combined entrance test there was a dilemma before the young lad. PU’s UILS offered him the comforts of home, the closeness to his family, the luxuries of being a day scholar and the love of a city known to him for over 15 years!

The Decision (very corporate)! Exhale!

Both GNLU and UILS were new institutions then, barely 5 years old, still making a name for themselves and placements hadn't happened yet in any of these colleges. His family adopted a very corporate style approach to solve the kid’s dilemma. A pros-cons analysis was drawn up (Wonder if PPT slides and laser pointers were used too) J.

GNLU attracted him because of the NLU brand. Other reasons hinted loudly towards UILS (Loud even by Punjabi standards).

Never Stop Dreaming

“Here I was, at UILS, and there was no looking back now. At this point, it was sheer optimism which made me feel that it hardly mattered whether one dream was shattered [CLAT-NLU dream]. What mattered was that I must never stop dreaming”.

UILS: an amazing amalgamation

“There is something to this place [UILS] which makes you look forward to come to college every day, sometimes even on lazy Sundays. Perhaps it is the campus and the crowd. Most of my time was of course taken by studies (your exams aren't that easy), projects (which involved field work too) and presentations”.

“The best thing about PU has to the amazing amalgamation of a students coming from various streams of education. Facilities in the university including a huge library (Asia's largest), a gym, cricket/football grounds, swimming pools, and lots more make PU far better than many of the NLUs”.

Things to do

“The other opportunities which UILS provided me, and which I immediately grabbed were seminars, research papers, conferences, moot courts and internships”.

Moots

• Came 2nd in the Surana & Surana National Trial Advocacy Moot Court.
• Participated in a National level Human Rights Moot organized by NHRC.

Paper Presentations

• Presented a research paper on "IPRs: Bio Piracy" at the National Law & Technology Seminar.
• Presented a research paper on "The Maintenance & Welfare of Senior Citizens Act 2007: A Bold Legislation or Mere Eyewash" at the All India Law Congress.

Internships

• A 6 week summer internship at Punjab SHRC, Chandigarh.

Extra-Curricular Activities

• Came 1st in the inter-college on-the-spot Debate held at PEC's Literary Fest, Chandigarh.
• Came 1st in the Business Marketing Plan Competition held at PEC Fest, Chandigarh.

The worst thing about NLUs

“The worst thing about NLUs, undoubtedly, has to be the intense competition which students face. It is so severe that most of them are unable to cope with it. Although the place refines you and makes you a person ready to take on the monstrous corporate world, it also takes a bit of life out of you”.

“I often hear my fellow NLU students brooding about too much pressure, studies, exams etc. NLSIU has a trimester system to add to the miseries of the poor souls”. [Ha!]

Familial drugs, fatal distances?

“Moreover, they are away from family which too affects them. Another rampant problem is drug abuse. Almost 8 out of 10 friends of mine who went to NLU's took up smoking, drinking or drugs. They call it a measure to break free from stress. I call it self-destruction. I fail to understand why NLUs compel them to resort to such means”.

Envy

However Nitish doesn’t deny being envious; envious of the practical training that NLU students get, the academic atmosphere of an NLU, the intelligent pan India crowd and their desire to be the best.

The murder

Nitish didn’t opt for an NLU by a conscious and deliberated choice. There he had stabbed the pride. And when you realise that he has no qualms about not joining an NLU and actually believe that he is better off at UILS, you can’t help but ponder, wonder and pat on the back of the murderer.

Nitish can be reached on Facebook here www.facebook.com/nitishsaxena

Disclaimer: Please, this is nothing against GNLU which I think is a top notch law college. Please note that I am of talking about 2-3 years ago. And Nitish too is a sort of 'rebel', who goes against the normal and then succeeds. Anyone now in his situation would prefer GNLU, of course. (Except him, maybe. That is why I interviewed him). :)