India, Feb. 24 -- The Supreme Court has upheld the conviction of seven people for smuggling foreign wrist watches through sea into Gujarat 40 years ago, but reduced their three-year sentence to the period already served.

A bench of justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta on Monday noted the lapse of time, the advanced age of the seven, and that two of them had died during the pendency. "In the peculiar facts and circumstances of the present case, ends of justice would be served by reducing the sentence to the term already undergone by the appellants."

The appellants served nearly one year of their sentence, which is more than the minimum of six months under Section 135 (1)(b)(i) of the Customs Act, 1962, under which they were convicted i...