The government is likely to amend the death penalty clause in the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act following observations of a Parliament Standing Committee.
"In view of the observations of the Standing Committee on Finance made in its report on the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (Amendment) Bill, 2011, it is proposed
to amend Section 31A of the NDPS Act and replace the words "shall be punishable with death" with the words "may be punishable with death," Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha.
The NDPS Act, 1985 has provision for a graded system of punishment, with the quantum of punishment varying with the quantity of drug/substance involved in a case, he said.
As many as 59,461 persons were prosecuted and 29,094 persons convicted under the NDPS Act between 2009 and 2011, he said adding 13,711 persons were also acquitted during the period.
