MUKHLAL SAHADEV YADAV Vs. STATE OF GUJARAT

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The appellants ('the accused' for short) were tried by the learned Additional City Sessions Judge, Court No.10, City Sessions Court, Ahmedabad in Sessions Case No. 272 of 1999 for commission of the offence punishable under Section 20 (b) (ii) of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 ('NDPS Act' for short), arraigned on the charge of having found with contraband article 'charas' weighing 178 grams, 163 grams and 193 grams respectively and also accused No.1 was found with charas weighing 1228 grams from his shoulder bag, without pass or permit, when they were intercepted and apprehended at the premises near Ramdevpeer temple, next to Ramlal's Akhada, near Lalbahadur Shastri Stadium, Bapunagar, Ahmedabad, on the basis of the prior information received by P.W.3, K.C. Chudasma, Senior Police Inspector, City Crime Branch, Ahmedabad. At the end of the trial, the accused were found guilty of the offence with which they were charged and as their complicity is proved, the learned Judge of the trial Court convicted them vide judgment and order dated 27.4.2001 for commission of the offence punishable under section 20 (b) (ii) of the NDPS Act and sentenced each of them to suffer R.I. for ten years and fine of Rs.1 lakh and i.d., each of the accused to undergo R.I. for further period of one year.

(2.) Aggrieved by the aforesaid judgment and order of conviction and sentence, the accused have filed this appeal under Section 374 of the Code of Criminal Procedure ('the Code' for short), from jail.

(3.) Briefly stated, the prosecution case as disclosed from the FIR and unfolded during trial, is as under: