When Weight Becomes Guilt: Quantity-Based Punishment And Proportionality Under Indian Narcotics Law
- IJLLR Journal
- Jun 12
- 2 min read
Himanshu Arora, Master of Laws (LL.M.), Faculty of Law, The ICFAI University, Baddi, Himachal Pradesh, India.
Dr. Keshva Nand, Assistant Professor and Head of Department, Faculty of Law, The ICFAI University, Baddi, Himachal Pradesh, India.
ABSTRACT
India's narcotics law dictates that a crime's severity is determined by the amount of substances involved. However, sentencing must go beyond the weight of the crime. This Article examines the doctrinal and the normative implications when the quantity of a substance determines the level of crime severity under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985. Using doctrinal legal research, the author examines the statutory structure, the jurisprudence on mixtures, conscious possession, reverse burdens, and the effect of bail, as well as the enforcement of the law and substance use patterns against sentencing theory. The author argues that quantity is an important classificatory element, but serves an unreliable function as a proxy for culpability, as it risks obscuring the individual's role, knowledge, dependence, and weakness in the case. The distortion has only been made worse by the shift from purity rationale to whole mixture rationale, and the effects of quantity classifications on a person's liberty before conviction. The author argues that enforcement and the total volume of seizures will not demonstrate a proportional level of culpability. The author proposes that quantity should still be a relevant consideration, but should serve a secondary role in determining an individual's level of culpability, mental state, and the need to structure an assurance of an adequate legal process. The author argues that narcotics sentencing in India should equate sentencing to an individual's level of culpability, the sentencing should be proportional, and should place an emphasis on the need for a strong legal process.
Keywords: Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, sentencing proportionality, drug quantity, culpability, bail.
