SUNIL Vs. STATE OF MADHYA PRADESH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This appeal arises out of the conviction of the appellant by the Special Judge, (Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances) convicting the appellant under section 8 read with section 20-B(2)(C) of the NDPS Act, 1985 (hereinafter referred to as Act) on account of recovery of 37.5 kgs. of Ganja, which is commercial quantity. By the impugned judgment, the appellant has been sentenced to undergo RI for 10 years with fine of Rs.1,00,000/- and in default of payment of fine to further undergo SI for one year.

(2.) As per the prosecution story, information was received at Police Station Shajapur through an informer at 5:10 pm, that one person was standing at AB road near village Majania corner2 towards village Sunera, with 3 bags containing contraband. S.I.Sanjay Verma, PW-11 claims to have recorded the aforesaid information at police station Shajapur, and then he alongwith other members of the raiding party came towards spot in Maruti Van bearing number MP-13/D/0606, a private vehicle and arrested the appellant Sunil at about 7:35 pm. It is their case that the appellant was found in possession of 37.5 kgs of Ganja. Panchnama was prepared of the recovery allegedly in the presence of two witnesses namely Rajesh Satwas and Akbar Khan. After completing the investigation, police filed the challan. Charges framed against the appellant were denied by him. The prosecution, therefore, led evidence and examined 12 witnesses namely Dilip Kumar Arya (PW-1), Manoj Singh Chandel (PW-2), R. Kamal Solanki (PW-3), Shyam Sharma (PW-4), Sitaram Chouhan (PW-5), G.S. Pawar (PW-6), Shishu Pal Singh (PW-7), Amit Bhavsar (PW-8), Rajesh Rao (PW-9), Mohan Prasad Saxena (PW-10), Sanjay Verma (PW-11) and Fateh Bahadur Singh (PW-12).

(3.) Out of the aforesaid witnesses except for Fateh Bahadur Singh PW-12, none of the witnesses is senior to SI Sanjay Verma PW-11, who is the investigating officer of this case.