The government is likely to amend the death penalty clause in the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act (NDPS) following observations of a Parliament Standing Committee.

In a written reply to the Rajya Sabha, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said, in view of the observations of the Standing Committee on Finance made in its report on the Narcotic Drugs and
Psychotropic Substances (Amendment) Bill, 2011, it is proposed
to amend Section 31A of the NDPS Act and replace the words
“shall be punishable with death” with the words “may be punishable with death. He said, the NDPS Act, 1985 has provision for a graded system of punishment, with the quantum of punishment varying with the quantity of drug/substance involved in a case.