Suspension of sentence under Section 389 CrPC can be granted in NDPS cases when substantial custody has been served and appeal delay is likely.

Suspension of sentence under Section 389 CrPC may be granted even in an NDPS conviction where the convict has already undergone a substantial part of the sentence and the appeal is unlikely to be heard soon. Broad High Court guidelines were treated as non-binding norms and not a statutory bar to the court's discretionary power. Because the appellant had served most of the ten-year term and was likely to complete the sentence before the appeal was decided, the Court found suspension justified and granted relief.

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Issues: Whether suspension of sentence under Section 389 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 should be granted to a convict under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 when a substantial part of the sentence has already been undergone and the appeal is unlikely to be heard soon.

Analysis: The sentence had been imposed for ten years and the appellant had already undergone about eight years of custody. The Court noted that although offences under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 are serious and the matter stood at the post-conviction stage, the applicable High Court guidelines were only broad norms and not a statutory interdiction. In view of the likely delay in hearing the appeal and the probability that the entire sentence would be served before disposal, the circumstances justified suspension of sentence.

Conclusion: Suspension of sentence was warranted and the request was allowed in favour of the appellant.

Ratio Decidendi: Broad sentencing guidelines cannot override the discretionary power under Section 389 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 where substantial custody has already been undergone and the appeal is unlikely to be decided before completion of the sentence.

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