Ganja Is Weighed as Seized, Moisture and All: Supreme Court Rejects Plea to Cut Weight Below Small Quantity

On 9 December 2004 the appellant was found in possession of 1.61 kg of ganja; the order notes that 1 kg of ganja is a small quantity and 20 kg or more a commercial quantity (para 3). He was convicted under Section 20(b)(ii)(B) of the NDPS Act and sentenced to three years' rigorous imprisonment and a fine of Rs. 30,000 (para 2). Before the High Court he argued that, without its moisture, and without seeds and leaves not accompanied by tops, the ganja would weigh less than 1 kg (para 3). The High Court rejected this but cut the sentence to one year, leaving the fine unchanged (para 4). He appealed again; the State did not appear (paras 5-9).

Section 2(iii)(b) defines ganja as the flowering or fruiting tops of the cannabis plant, excluding the seeds and leaves when not accompanied by the tops (para 10). The appellant's case was that the seized ganja had no flowering or fruiting tops, so the seeds and leaves had to be left out of the weight, which would bring it down considerably and attract a much lesser sentence (para 10). The Court found this unconvincing. The evidence on record established that the seized ganja consisted of greenish brown leafy and flowery parts of the plant, in moist condition (para 11). Because it was accompanied by the flowery parts, the definition itself brought in the seeds and leaves of the cannabis plant (para 11). On moisture, there is nothing in the NDPS Act to suggest that the moisture content has to be separately ascertained and excluded when the weight of ganja is determined (para 11). The weight of the contraband is the weight taken at the time of seizure (para 11). The Court therefore saw no reason to interfere with the High Court's order (para 12).