A man has been handed a three-year rigorous imprisonment sentence by a drug court for his involvement in the illegal sale of counterfeit medications at his unlicensed medical store. The verdict was delivered by a three-member panel of the drug court, chaired by Syed Zulfiqar Ali Shah, with Muhammad Arif Mithani and Aijaz Ahmed Khanzada as the other members. The court carefully examined the evidence and arguments presented by both sides before reaching its decision.
Unlicensed Medical Store Found Guilty
The court found the man guilty of operating an unlicensed medical store named Awab Enterprises in the Katchi Gali medicine market. The man was involved in the unlawful sale of substandard, unregistered, and spurious medicines. As part of the sentence, he was ordered to pay a cumulative fine of Rs150,000. Failure to pay the fine would result in an additional eight months of imprisonment.
Irrefutable Proof Presented
The court emphasized the prosecution’s evidence, supported by laboratory reports, which provided undeniable proof that on September 2, 2010, the man was operating the unlicensed medical store. The store, located on the ground floor with a godown on the first floor, was situated within the Katchi Gali medicine market.
The man, who had been out on bail, was immediately taken into custody following the court’s decision. He was transferred to the central prison to commence his prison term. However, the court acknowledged the period he had already spent in jail since his arrest on September 3, 2010, which would be deducted from his overall prison term as per Section 382-B of the Criminal Procedure Code.
Appeal Leads to Revised Sentence
It is worth noting that the drug court had initially sentenced the man to one year in jail for this case in June 2011. However, the prosecution appealed against the trial court’s decision to the Sindh High Court (SHC), seeking a more severe punishment. Consequently, the SHC remanded the case back to the drug court, instructing them to impose a suitable sentence in accordance with the law.
