DATTATRAYA @ DATTU BALANNA PARMAT Vs. STATE OF MAHARASHTRA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) ALL the three appeals are directed against the Judgment and Order of the Additional Sessions Judge, Nasik, delivered on 14th December 1994, whereby all the four Appellants are convicted under Section 20(b)(ii) of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 (NDPS Act for short) and each of them is sentenced to suffer R.I. for 10 years and to pay a fine of Rs.l,00,000.00 and in default of payment of fine, each accused to suffer R.I. for 6 months. Appeal No.633 of 1994 is preferred by Original Accused Nos.1 and 4, Appeal No.640 of 1994 is preferred by Original Accused No.2 and Appeal No.11 of 1995 is preferred by Original Accused No.3. Since the Appellants are aggrieved by the same Judgment and Order, it is convenient to dispose of all the three Appeals by this common Judgment.

(2.) BRIEFLY stated the facts giving rise to the present appeal are as follows : On 8th April 1994 at about 9.15 p.m. consequent upon an information received by P.S.I. Tambat (P.W.5), a raid was arranged, headed by P.W.5 and the raiding party consisted of P.C.Panpatil (P.W.6), P.C.Sabale (P.W.4) and others. The information related to a hut in Kalika Zopadpatti behind Kalika Mandir and the information was to the effect that one Dattu Parmat, Accused No.1, was in possession of huge quantity of Charas without permit. It is the prosecution case that the said information was written down by P.W.5; that he sent P.W.6 and P.W.4 to procure two panchas and accordingly two panchas viz., P.W.1 and P.W.2 were brought to the Crime Branch Office; that all of them started for Sarkarwada Police Station within whose jurisdiction Kalika Zopadpatti is situated; P.W.7 i.e. P.S.I. Kathavate also joined the raiding party; and that although the drug testing kit was collected from Crime Branch Office, from the Sarkarwada Police Station the raiding party obtained further material like weighing scale, sealing material etc.; that the raiding party then proceeded towards the said Zopadpatti where the hut of the 1st Accused was located and the raiding party entered the said hut, found all the four accused sitting on the floor around some blackish substance lying in front of them on a plastic sheet and preparing tablets from the same. The said blackish material was in the form of seven big balls, a smaller ball and several tablets. It is the prosecution case that the said material was Charas and thus all the four accused were arrested, muddemal was seized and sealed on the spot and muddemal was brought to the Sarkarwada Police Station where it was handed over. It is the prosecution case that the panchanama which was a 'running' panchanama concluded at the said hut and while handing over the muddemal at Sarkarwada Police Station another panchanama was prepared. Accused were charged with the said offence, found guilty and sentenced, hence the present appeals.

(3.) BEFORE us made the impugned Judgment and Order is attacked on several grounds by Mr.Mohite appearing for the Appellant in Appeal No.11 of 1995. His arguments have been adopted by Mr.Chitnis and Mr.Mundargi appearing for the Appellants in the other two appeals. Moreover, Mr.Chitnis has advanced couple of more submissions which we have dealt with separately.