MANSINGH Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) FEELING aggrieved by the judgment of conviction and order of sentence, passed by Special Judge (N. D. P. S. Act) Mandsaur, in Special Case No. 28/97, convicting appellants under Sections 8/18 and 8/15 of the Narcotic Drugs and psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 (for brevity 'the Act') and sentencing them to suffer R. I. of 10 years each and fine Rs. 1 lac each; in default further imprisonment of 2 years R. I. each, the appellants have knocked the door of this court by preferring this appeal under Section 374 (2) of the Code of Criminal procedure, 1973.

(2.) SANS unnecessarily details, facts lie in a narrow compass. On 1-3-97 at 1 p. m. one Devendra Narain, driver of Narcotics Department received information from the informant that on the way to Neemuch-Chittor route near village Sagrana in the Dhaba (restaurant) of accused Mansingh, he and his nephew co-accused Vinodsingh are serving opium to the truck drivers. After doing the needful the investigating agency arrived at the spot and gave notice under Section 50 of the Act to the appellants. Both the accused persons gave their consent to be searched by Shri R. K. Sinha, who was the in-charge of the raiding party. Necessary Panchnamas in this regard were prepared. Thereafter, sub-Inspector J. C. Panwar and Sub-Inspector Rameshwarrao, in presence of accused Mansingh, Vinodsingh as also in presence of the witnesses, took search of the Dhaba. At that juncture Opium Officer Shri R. K. Sinha was also present.

(3.) DURING the search of the Dhaba in a room a lock was inserted, which was opened by accused Vinodsingh by taking out the key from his pocket. Inside the room, in a bag of old cloth one polyethylene packet was kept in which opium was found. This packet was hidden behind the cement bags. In another room of the Dhaba in an old bag of fertilizer, Poppy husk was found, which was hidden in the heap of the wood. Thereafter, on being searched, accused vinodsingh, opium was seized from the pocket of his trouser. Thereafter, motorcycle of accused Mansingh bearing registration No. MP-14/f-3889 was searched and opium was recovered from the dickey of the said motorcycle. The accused persons accepted these contraband articles of them.