MUMBAI: In a rare ruling, a special narcotics court in Mumbai on Wednesday sent a resident of Kashmir convicted for drug trafficking to the gallows. Ghulam Malik was found guilty in two different cases for dealing in narcotics. And under stringent provisions of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances ( NDPS ) Act, a second conviction is punishable only with a mandatory death sentence.

Judge P B Sawant, who sentenced Malik to death, turned emotional after the sentencing and said, "In my 29 years in the profession and past ten years as a judicial officer I had given no capital punishment, but duty is duty and today I have performed it." However, a legal expert said the order may be questioned in the context of the NDPS Act which essentially raises the penalty if a man is caught dealing in drugs a second time round.

The Narcotics Control Bureau ( NCB ) had seized a truck loaded with 142 kg of hashish in Ahmedabad in January 2002. Documents found in the truck indicated that 55 kg of the contraband was destined for Mumbai where it was to be delivered to Malik. This was the crux of the first case against Malik.

On January 14, 2002, officials from the Mumbai unit of NCB tracked Malik to his Dongri residence where they found another 1.8 kg of hashish. Malik in his interrogation said he had stored more hashish in a godown in Andheri. Raids on the godown yielded another 188 kg of hashish. This resulted in him being booked in a second case.

Malik was first convicted in March 2004 by a fast track court in Gujarat and sentenced to 10 years RI. Then, on December 18, 2007, judge Sawant found Malik guilty in the case against him in Mumbai for the seizures made from the godown.

Special public prosecutor Arun Gupte then invoked article 31-A of the NDPS Act which says that a second conviction is punishable only with a death sentence. Hence the sessions court gave a death penalty to Malik.

However, advocate Ayaz Khan said article 31-A required some reinterpretation to understand the spirit behind it. "In Malik's case both convictions have come as a result of a single drug transaction whereas the purpose of the mandatory death sentence clause is to deter convicts from breaking the law again and again," said Khan. These questions will now be considered by the high court when it looks at the death sentence handed out by judge Sawant.




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FULLERTON BLOWS DOWN POT DISPENSARY BAN

The Panel Instead Indicates It Will Likely Take Steps to Regulate the Outlets, Becoming the Only Orange County City With Such Regulations.

FULLERTON -- A proposed ban on medical-marijuana dispensaries in the city was defeated by the City Council on Tuesday night, with the panel indicating it will instead establish regulations for the outlets.

If the City Council does indeed vote to regulate the dispensaries, Fullerton would apparently become the only Orange County muncipality with such regulations.

The council voted 3-2, with councilmen Don Bankhead and Dick Jones supporting a ban.

On Feb. 19, the council is scheduled to consider how to regulate the retail outlets; staffers were told to analyze the current requirements and update zoning maps for possible dispensary locations.

"There is no need to have these businesses in Fullerton, but this is a zoning issue," said Councilman Shawn Nelson, who with Mayor Sharon Quirk and Councilwoman Pam Keller agreed California voters supported the dispensaries by a large margin when they adopted Proposition 215 in 1996.

Federal laws prohibit medical-marijuana dispensaries.

The council majority for the vote emphasized they were not in favor of marijuana.

"But we need to stay out of the crossfire ( between the state and federal governments )," Nelson said.

Jones argued it was the council's job to protect citizens, "but we're protecting druggies. Nothing is dispensed by people who are knowledgeable."

"We're inviting an enforcement problem," Bankhead said. "Our Police Department is bound to enforce federal regulations."

Fullerton Police Capt. Greg Mayes said his force has never seen a community dispensary acting in the spirit of state law. "They take advantage for financial gain," he added.

A staff report indicated that 21 Orange County cities have banned dispensaries. More recently, Huntington Beach and Anaheim reversed their approvals.

In an unrelated item, the council gave dancehall operator James Barnum a reprieve from revocation of his conditional use permit.

Citing citizen complaints and municipal code violations, the council imposed 20 conditions for Barnum to keep operating The Alley at 140 W. Wilshire Ave.

Nelson, the sole opponent to allowing the modifications, said the operation is inappropriate for the location. His request for a revocation hearing was denied.




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