ARIF Vs. STATE OF U P

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This appeal has been preferred against the judgment and order dated 29.7.2013 passed by the Additional Sessions Judge, Court No. 5, Varanasi, in S.S.T. No. 55 of 2013, State of U.P. Vs. Arif, arising out of Case Crime No. 10 of 2013, u/s 8/21 of the N.D.P.S. Act, P.S. Chowk, District Varanasi, whereby the appellant has been convicted and sentenced with rigorous imprisonment for ten years with fine of Rs. One lakh and in default of payment of fine to undergo a further imprisonment of three years.

(2.) The brief facts according to the recovery memo (Ext. Ka2) are that on 21.1.2013 S.I. Vansh Narayan along with S.I. Uday Pratap Pandey and a member of Fantom Squad Constable Rakesh Ranjan Singh was on petrol duty for protection of crime as per normal routine and all of them were going towards Bans Phatak from Chowk, when they saw a young man coming from the front side. Seeing the police he immediately turned back and tried to run away. On suspicion the police team chased him and caught him near Arvind Showroom. On being enquired, he told his name as Arif, son of Idris, resident of Aurangabad, District Varanasi, and confessed that as he has "Alpraquil" pills with him, he was fleeing away from the police. On this, the police team apprised him that he was to be searched before a Gazetted officer and he has a choice either to go to the Gazetted officer or the Gazetted officer be called at the place of occurrence. The accused replied that as he has already confessed his guilt why he should be unnecessarily harassed or why a Gazetted officer be disturbed and he opted to be searched by the police. Then the consent of the accused was taken in his handwriting and he was searched by the police team. Before that the members of the police team conducted search of each other amongst themselves so as to ascertain that none of them had any illicit article with them. The information was given to the higher officers through R.T. set. The police team tried to procure witnesses from the public but no one got ready for it. On search of the accused-appellant 15 strips each containing 60 tablets of Alpraquil of 0.5 mg potency were recovered kept inside the shirt of the accused. He informed that he used to sell these intoxicating tablets to the drug edict persons. The accused after being informed that his aforesaid act is punishable under section 21 of the N.D.P.S. Act and was arrested at 7.00 P.M. The total 900 pills recovered from his possession were weighed with Wrapper at a nearby Jewellery shop and its total weight was found to be 180 gms. The recovered contraband was sealed in the cloth, the sample of the seal was prepared, the recovery memo was read over to the accused-appellant and his signatures were taken on it.

(3.) On the basis of the aforesaid recovery memo a criminal case u/s 8/21 of the N.D.P.S. Act was registered against the appellant at Crime No. 10 of 2013 at P.S. Chowk, District Varanasi, and the matter was investigated. The Investigating Officer interrogated the witnesses, recorded their statements, inspected the place of occurrence, prepared the site plan and after concluding the investigation submitted charge sheet against the appellant.