The high court on Tuesday commuted the death sentence of a 75-year-old man convicted twice under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act to 30 years’ imprisonment.

A Barasat court had in 2016 awarded death penalty to Anisur Rahaman, after he was convicted twice for peddling heroin.

The high court division bench of Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice Suvra Ghosh, which commuted the death sentence to 30 years in jail, observed that an amendment to Section 31A of the NDPS Act in 2014 empowered courts to commute death sentences.

Rahaman was first arrested in Entally in 1997 for possessing 2kg of heroin. He was granted bail while the trial continued at the sessions court in Calcutta.

Rahaman resumed peddling heroin after being released on bail and was arrested again, in Salt Lake, in 2002. Around 3.5kg of heroin was found on him during his second arrest.

The city sessions court had in 2006 sent Rahaman to jail for 30 years in connection with the first case.

In 2012, the high court commuted the sentence to 14 years in jail.

In the second case, the Barasat court ordered capital punishment in 2016 because Rahaman had been convicted twice for peddling heroin under the NDPS Act. Rahama moved the high court against the order. He had approached the state legal aid services before moving the appeal.

Advocate Sanjay Bardhan appeared for the state.

Chatterjee pointed out on Tuesday that following the amendment to Section 31A of the NDPS Act, courts had the power to commute death sentences in which the accused had been convicted twice for a crime. Bardhan opposed Chatterjee’s prayer and asked the court to uphold the sentence passed by the Barasat court.

After hearing both sides, the division bench commuted the death sentence to life.