Wadia scion "Ness Wadia is in India. The judgment is clear. It is a suspended sentence. Hence it will not impact Wadia in the discharge of any of his responsibilities and he will continue to play the role that he has done hitherto, both within the Group and outside,” noted a statement issued by the Wadia group of companies.
Wadia, 47, was handed a two-year prison sentence which was suspended for five years by a Sapporo District Court in March 2019 when he was detained with 25 gms of cannabis at the New Chitose Airport on Japan’s Hokkaido island, according to the Financial Times of April 29, 2019. Media reports stated that Wadia who was on a skiing holiday admitted that the drug was for his personal use. Wadia is a director of all the major companies in the Wadia Group including Bombay Dyeing, Britannia and GoAir.
According to a report in mid-day of May 1, 2019, a source from the companies alleged: "It looks like the timing of the article is an attempt to adversely impact the upcoming board meeting to be held on May 2, 2019, to approve the quarter and financial year ended March 31, 2019 results, where dividend payments, if any, will also be decided. This seems to have been done by someone deliberately.”
While Japanese laws like many in South East Asia are strict, "10 states in America have legalized recreational marijuana,” noted The Times of India of May 1, 2019.