RANVIRSINH SARDARSINH JAT CHAUDHARY Vs. STATE OF GUJARAT

JUDGEMENT

(1.) On 1-7-1989, on the outskirts of City of Palanpur, under instructions of DSP, PSI Pandey, along with his police party, was keeping a watch on the highway. As a part of this, they were stopping the vehicles and were also searching the vehicles so stopped. One such vehicle, G.R.S. 6407, coming on that highway from outside State of Gujarat, was halted and search was carried out. It was an empty tanker. From the first hold of the vehicle, suspicious packet was found, which on being taken out, was found to contain Narcotic, which ultimately turned out to be opium weighing 5.50 kgs. valued at that time at Rs. 27,500.00. Search on three occupants of the tanker i.e. accused No. 1, the owner, accused No. 2, the driver, and accused No. 3, the conductor was carried out on the spot and only currency notes from each of them was recovered, as set out in charge Exh. 4, page 11.

(2.) This led to trial before the learned Sessions Judge. Banaskantha at Palanpur in Sessions Case No. 1 of 1990 leading to their conviction under Sec. 17 of NDPS Act, where the learned Judge was pleased to award R. I. for 10 years and fine of Rs. 1,00,000.00 and in default to undergo R. I. for 2 years. This judgment is dated 4-12-1990.

(3.) Initially attempt was made on behalf of appellants-accused by the learned Advocates appearing for them, to the effect that the seal affixed on muddamal articles is found to be defective or not the same as was noticed by the FSL people when they received the muddamal article for analysis purpose. However, this point could not be carried any further because what was sought to be argued was on the basis of jumbling of some words used either in the beginning or at the end of the concerned seal. The seal affixed being a round one, the order of the words used therein would depend upon the location or the point from which, in that round seal, one would start reading the writing inscribed therein.