RATAN LAL Vs. STATE OF MADHYA PRADESH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The Appellant is one of the three accused arraigned before the sessions court for facing a charge under Sections 18 and 20 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 (N.D.P.S. Act) . The trial court convicted all the three accused under Section 15 as well as 18 read with Section 8 of the Act, after holding that no offence under Section 20 of the Act had been made out. They were sentenced to undergo imprisonment for 10 years and pay a fine of Rs. 1 lakh separately under each count and directed those sentence to run separately. The High Court, after taking full evidence acquitted two of the accused and concurred with the trial court regarding the Appellant under Section 15 as well as 18 read with Section 8 of the Act and confirmed the conviction and sentence passed on Appellant herein and dismissed his appeal.

(2.) At the outset, we may point out that no case is even spelt out by the prosecution that any of the accused had either produced or cultivated poppy straw which is the crux of the offence involved in Section 15. Nevertheless, the trial court convicted this Appellant under Section 15 of the Act which was upheld by the High Court without application of mind on that aspect.

(3.) Confining ourselves to the conviction under Section 18 of the Act, we have to state the allegations made against the Appellant. His mother (Dhapu Bai) had licence to cultivate opium in an extent of 10 acres, in Survey No. 76/1 but the Appellant cultivated opium in some other land lying in Survey No. 81/3 also. If the prosecution has succeeded in showing that the cultivation of opium was confined within 10 acres lying in Survey No. 76/1, Appellant is not liable to be convicted at all, even assuming that he was not the licensee because the licence stood in the name of his mother. It is too much for us to say that as the licence stood in the name of his mother, the cultivation made by the Appellant cannot be attributed to that of the mother for convicting the Appellant on account of that.