MOHAMMMED HUSSAIN FARAH Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE present appeal is filed by the original accused, who in the instant case has styled himself as Mohomed Hussain. He seeks to impugn the judgment and order passed by the learned Additional Sessions Judge, Greater Bombay on 11th October, 1993 convicting him under section 21 read with section 8 (c) of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 (hereinafter, for short, referred to N. D. P. S. Act) and sentencing him to suffer rigorous imprisonment for 10 years and to pay a fine of Rs. 1,00,000/- in default to suffer further rigorous imprisonment for six months.

(2.) AT the trial petitioner was charged for offence punishable under section 29 read with sections 8 (c), 21, 23, and 30 of the N. D. P. S. Act as also under section 135a of the Customs Act. Since the charge, as framed, has been challenged in the appeal, as being illegal, it will be convenient at this stage to reproduce the same: :

(3.) COMPLAINANT in the instant case is one S. M. Sawant (P. W. 1 ). He, at the relevant time, was an Intelligence Officer in the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence Office (D. R. I. ). P. W. 2 Krishnakumar was, at the material time, working as Assistant Director of D. R. I. He was, thus, superior officer of Shri Sawant. P. W. 3 - Anthony Fernandes was the Manager of Embassy Hotel, which is located behind Capital Theatre, opposite V. T. Railway Station where the offence in question was detected. P. W. 4 Domnic Martin Nunes is an employee in the aforesaid Embassy Hotel working in its Bar. He has acted as a panch to the panchanama (Exhibit 40) in respect of the search and seizure from Room No. 201, located on the ground floor of the aforesaid Embassy Hotel. P. W. 5 Chothirakumnil Itty Mathew is an Intelligence Officer, D. R. I. , who is connected with an earlier offence with which the present accused was charged. He was also present at the time of search and seizure in respect of the present prosecution. P. W. 6 Homigar Adi Mohta is a Manager of another Hotel Sahil, where the accused had stayed prior to his stay in Hotel Embassy. P. W. 7 Bhikki Ram Verma is a Chemical Analyser working in Bombay. P. W. 8 - Rameshchandra Lalaram Verma is an Assistant Chemical Analyser working under Bhikki Ram Verma. P. W. 9 Suresh Chandra Johri is a Chemical Analyser in the Central Revenues Control Laboratory, Delhi.