Whoever, in contravention of any provision of this Act or any rule or order made or condition of licence granted thereunder, cultivates the opium poppy or produces, manufactures, possesses, sells, purchases, transports, imports inter-State, exports inter-State or uses opium, shall be punishable,—
(a) where the contravention involves small quantity, with rigorous imprisonment for a term which may extend to one year, or with fine which may extend to ten thousand rupees, or with both;
(b) where the contravention involves commercial quantity, with rigorous imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than ten years but which may extend to twenty years and shall also be liable to fine which shall not be less than one lakh rupees but which may extend to two lakh rupees:
Provided that the court may, for reasons to be recorded in the judgment, impose a fine exceeding two lakh rupees;
(c) in any other case, with rigorous imprisonment for a term which may extend to ten years and with fine which may extend to one lakh rupees.
Legal Commentary & Landmark Judgments: Section 18
Penal sanctions under this provision bifurcate contraventions into the illicit cultivation of the opium poppy under clause (a) and substantive dealings in harvested opium gum under clause (b). Cultivation of the opium poppy without a valid central excise license is punishable with rigorous imprisonment of up to ten years and fine up to one lakh rupees. Substantive offences concerning raw or unrefined opium—including its extraction, possession, transport, sale, or purchase—are tiered by quantity: small quantity (up to 25 grams) attracts up to one year imprisonment; intermediate quantity incurs up to ten years; and commercial quantity (2.5 kilograms or more) mandates a strict minimum of ten to twenty years rigorous imprisonment and fine between one and two lakh rupees.
Furthermore, in Mohan Lal v. State of Punjab (2018) 17 SCC 627 as modified by Mukesh Singh v. State (Narcotic Branch) (2020) 10 SCC 120, the Supreme Court clarified that while the investigator and informant being the same officer does not automatically vitiate every trial, any demonstrable bias or prejudice during the seizure of opium will prove fatal to the prosecution.
Raw opium prosecutions crossing 2.5 kilograms attract the mandatory ten-year custodial sentence and activate the bail restriction under Section 37. Establishing conscious possession demands verified seizure panchnamas, uninterrupted seal movement, and certified sampling under Section 52A.