ALTHAF Vs. STATE OF KERALA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner herein is the original 2nd accused in S.C (NDPS) No.2/2016 of the Special Court for NDPS Cases, Thodupuzha. The Police brought final report in the said case against six accused including the petitioner, under Sections 20(b)(ii)B and 29 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, on the allegation that while riding on different motor cycles, they were found possessing a total quantity of 1.050 kgs of ganja. Seizure was made from three different persons, but the Police Officer who detected the offence mixed the whole quantity seized from three different persons, and registered a single crime against six persons and also collected samples from the total mixture seized from the three persons. At the very beginning itself, an illegality in detection was committed by the police Officer. Anyway, after investigation, final report was filed in court against six accused, though seizure in small quantity was made only from three persons. The accused Nos.1 and 3 to 6 entered appearance before the trial court and pleaded not guilty to the charge framed against them. They obtained a judgment of acquittal on 25.11.2016 on various grounds including legal grounds. The case against the petitioner was split up and refiled when he remained consistently absent, and it is now pending as SC 40/2016. He seeks orders quashing the prosecution as against him on the ground that the very substratum of the prosecution case stands totally lost by the acquittal of the others.

(2.) Annexure-C is the copy of the judgment of the trial court in SC 2/2016. Regarding the identification of different accused by the Police Officer who detected the offence, the learned trial Judge has found thus in paragraph 18 of the Annexure-C judgment.

(3.) As regards the illegality in the process of detection, the learned trial Judge found thus in paragraph 19 of the judgment: