JAITUN ALIKHAN IRANI Vs. STATE OF MAHARASHTRA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) APPELLANTS convicted and sentenced under the provisions of Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act have appealed against the order of their conviction and sentence recorded by the Additional Sessions Judge, Pune in sessions Case No. 141 of 1991 on 30th January, 1992.

(2.) PROSECUTION case briefly stated is as follows : The information was received that the appellants were selling ganja in area known as Irani Vasti at Shivaji Nagar railway Station, Pune and, therefore, PW 5 PSI Devane called his subordinates and informed about the same and reduced the said information in writing at Exhibit 15. Thereafter he prepared the report Exhibit 16 and sent to his superior who was Police Inspector. Pursuant thereto PI gave the direction to PSI Devane to conduct the raid. Two Panchas were called, pw 3 and PW 4, one of whom is lady panch. The panchas were disclosed about the said information and thereafter the raiding party including one lady constable went to the house of the appellants along with the necessary articles required for the purpose of weighing, sealing and labelling the muddemal articles and samples. PSI had also entered the information about the proposed raid in the Station Diary at sr. No. 45. The raiding party went to the house of the appellants in a jeep. After tracing the house of the appellants, the raiding party entered the house of the appellants. Both the appellants were found in the house one of whom i. e. Appellant No. 2 Nasim opened the door. Appellants were told about the information and their intention to search the house of the accused which was permitted by the appellants. Offer was made to the appellants for the personal search of the raiding party which was declined. The appellants were also asked whether they wanted their house to be searched in the presence of a gazetted Officer or a magistrate which was also declined by the appellants. During the course of the search the raiding party found a green iron box under the iron stand which was locked. The same was opened with the help of the key which was given by Jaitun-Appellant No. 1. The said iron box contained 20 plastic packets containing ganja, each weighing ? kgs. Thus the entire contraband weighed 10 kgs. The PSI removed one sample of 100 gms. from one packet which was properly sealed and labelled with the signature of panchas. Remaining property was kept in the iron box with lock which was sealed and labelled with the signatures of the panchas. A detailed panchanama (Exh. 12) was prepared with the signatures of the panchas. The police party came back to the deccan Gymkhana Police Station where PSI Devane filed FIR (Exh. 18) along with report Exhibit 19. The case was registered under CR No. 288 of 1990 and the Muddemal property was handed to the custody of the Muddemal Clerk in the presence of PI. The report in respect of the seizure and arrest of the accused was prepared at Exhibit 20. The PSI then recorded the statements of the witnesses. The sample packet was sent along with the Head Constable Chaudhari to the office of the C. A. The muddemal property was handed over to the Property Clerk at the Police Station along with the letter copy which is Exhibit 9. The CA, after analysing the sample, came to the conclusion that ganja was detected in the said sample. The CA report is at Exhibit 21. The charge-sheet came to be filed on 21-11-1990 against both the appellants under section 20 (b) read with section 29 of the n. D. P. S. Act and under section 66 (1) (b) read with section 83 of the Bombay Prohibition Act in the Court of JMFC, Pune. The case was committed to the Sessions Court on 19-2-1991.

(3.) ON 20-12-1991 the charges were framed and read out to the appellants who pleaded not guilty. The defence of the appellants was of total denial. According to them the police called them in the police station on the ground that their husbands were arrested by them and, therefore, they went to the police station and a false case came to be lodged against them.