RITESH KUMAR Vs. STATE OF GOA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This appeal is filed by the accused who has been convicted and sentenced under Section 20 (b) (ii) (C) of the narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic sub-stances Act, 1985 (the said Act, for short) to undergo rigorous imprisonment for 10 years and to pay a fine of Rs. 1,00,000/ (rupees one lakh only) , in default to undergo simple imprisonment for one year, by learned special Judge, N. D. P. S. Court, Mapusa.

(2.) The facts of the case of the prosecution, as stated by Police Inspector Shri menezes/pw. 6 is that on 28. 12. 00 at about 14. 05 hrs. while he was attached to Mapusa police Station, he received specific reliable information that a person of about 22-25 years of age was staying in room No. 205 of hotel 'gaurav' and was having a consignment of charas and that he reduced the said information into writing and gave a copy thereof to Sub-Divisional Police Officer Shri gawas/pw. 7 in his office, and then deputed constable Satodkar to secure the presence of two panch witnesses, and after they were brought namely, Shri Dhawaskar/pw. 3 and Shri Stanley, he briefed them regarding the said information and introduced the other members of the raiding party, and left the Police Station at about 15. 20 hrs. alongwith a kit box containing weighing, packing and sealing material, etc. as well as the seal of Mapusa Police Station and met the person sitting at the reception of the said hotel and asked about the location of room No. 205 which on reaching there, was found closed from inside, and when the door was knocked, the accused opened the said door and he introduced himself to the accused who gave his name as Ritesh kumar, son of Parshottam Ram, resident of Kullu, Himachal Pradesh and then told the accused about the receipt of the said information and about he wanting to take the personal search of the accused and the room, and then introduced the members of the raiding party and told the accused that he was free to take the search of the raiding party including the panchas before they could enter the room but the accused declined the offer, and then he told the accused that he could be searched in the presence of a Gazetted Officer or a Magistrate of his choice, which offer, the accused also declined and then upon search he found rs. 35/- in the Tshirt pocket of the accused and in the right pant pocket, there was a small polythene bag containing six black colour substances, five cylindrical in shape and one ballshaped, wrapped in cellophane plastic which were weighed and found to be 50 grams and then the same were put back in the same polythene bag, then put in a brown envelope and packed and sealed with the same seal of Mapusa Police Station and the envelope was marked as Exh. 2 and signed, and, in the left pant pocket, a pair of silver colour keys with a ring were found which keys the accused stated were of the lock put to his handbag. Thereafter they found in front of the bed a green and blue colour handbag with two front pockets and two side pockets. The front pockets were empty. There was a purse containing a driving licence with a photograph of the accused as well as the name and address of the accused, and there was a lock on the bag which was opened with the keys found in the pant pocket of the accused and in the said bag, beneath the clothes, there was a cardboard wrapped in black plastic and below the said cardboard, there was a cardboard box which was fixed by tapes on all sides and the bag was opened and in the said bag there were black colour substance, cylindrical, ball and round shaped wrapped in cellophane individually and suspected to be charas which when weighed were found to be 2. 23 kgs. and were marked Exh. 4 and the cardboard box was also packed and sealed and marked Exh. 5. The accused was asked to remove his green colour Tshirt and brown colour pant and was given substitute set of clothes which were lying on the bed and the said clothes of the accused were packed and sealed and marked Exh. 7 and 8, and the keys found in the pant pocket were marked Exh. 9. On returning to the Police station alongwith the accused and the seized property, P. I. Shri Menezes/pw. 6 registered an offence vide Crime No. 249/2000 and effected the arrest of the accused and filed his F. I. R. P. I. Shri Menezes/pw. 6 stated that he handed over the seized property, in all nine items, to the writer H. C. of mapusa Police Station Shri Mayekar/pw. 8 for safe custody and obtained a receipt from him. P. I. Shri Menezes/pw. 6 stated that he submitted intimation under Section 57 of the Act to the Superintendent of Police (North) and to the Sub-Divisional Police officer, Mapusa, and on the same day he attached the hotel checking register of the said hotel in the presence of two pancha. witnesses namely Shri Collaso/pw. 4 and vassudev Arabekar and that he made a letter to the Director, food and Drugs Administration in triplicate, bearing the specimen seal impression of Mapusa Police Station and a covering letter to the Superintendent of Police (CID, CB) , Panaji on the same day. P. I. Shri Menezes/pw. 6 stated that on 29. 12. 2000 ASI Thakur was deputed alongwith the letters to the Superintendent of Police and the Director, Food and drugs Administration in duplicate and the sealed envelopes Exh. 2 and Exh. 4 to the office of the Superintendent of Police to be handed over the same for onward despatch to the laboratory but the said ASI Thakur returned from the said Office alongwith the said Exh. 2 and Exh. 4 and the letters and reported that PSI Shetgaonkar/pw. 2 was not available since he was deputed for v. V. I. P. Law and order duty and that he would be available on 2. 1. 2001 and that the station diary to that effect was made and so also an entry on the muddemal register. He stated that on 2. 1. 2001 Head Constable Kalangutkar was deputed with the said letters and Exh. 2 and Exh. 4 to hand over the same in the Office of the Superintendent of Police (C. I. D. ) , C. B. , Panaji and the same were handed over by him. He stated that the report was received with a covering letter from PSI Shetgaonkar/pw. 2 and upon completion of investigation he filed a charge-sheet against the accused.

(3.) The prosecution examined eight witnesses in all to establish their case. Mahesh kaissare/pw. 1 is the Junior Scientific Officer who analysed Exh. 2 and Exh. 4 and found the substances to contain charas; shri Shetgaonkar/pw. 2 through whom the said attached substances were forwarded to the Office of Food and Drugs Administration; Umesh Dhawaskar/pw. 3 who witnessed the panchanama of search and seizure; Simon Collasso/pw. 4 the witness who was present at the time of attachment of the register of the hotel; Laxman Das/pw. 5 the son of the owner of the hotel 'gaurav' and who was present at the time when the accused had checked in the hotel; Dy. S. P. Arvind Gawas/pw. 7 who was intimated of the receipt of prior information and who was present during the time of the raid as well as to whom a report under Section 57 of the Act was made. Manguesh Mayekar/pw. 8 who received the seized articles subsequent to the raid and kept the same with him in a locker, with keys which were in his exclusive custody, as stated by him.