NARENDRA NATH MITRA Vs. THE STATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This appeal is directed against a judgement of conviction and sentence dated 7th Feb., 2000 passed by the Id. Session Judge, A & N Islands, Port Blair in Session Case No. 7 of 1996 whereby and where under the ld. Session Judge convicted the appellant herein for an alleged commission of offence under section 20(b)(i) of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 (hereinafter referred to as the said Act for the sake of brevity) and sentenced him to undergo RI for one year and to pay a fine of Rs. 2000.00 i.d. to suffer RI for further period of one month.

(2.) The prosecution case as it appears from the First Information Report is that on 31st Aug., 1994 at about 15.00 hours the Station House Officer, Diglipur, Police Station, Shaukat Hussain upon receiving a secret information to the effect that the appellant who is youngest brother of the Ex-Pradhan Dhiren Mitra brought with him Ganja from Calcutta and was selling the same to different parties against price and if an immediate raid is conducted the same would be recovered, and pursuant to the said information, he allegedly deployed two constables to locate the house of the appellant and to keep a watch there over. Search warrant from the Id. Judicial Magistrate, Mayabunder, however, could not be obtained for the said purpose in relation whereto an information was given to the then Tehsilder-cum-Executive Magistrate, Mr. Govindram of Diglipur over telephone and he was requested to accompany him. Allegedly two independent witnesses were found out through Head Constable 67 R.K. Nair namely Mohammed Hanif son of B. Moideen Contractor of A.P.W.D and N. Balan son of Narasimam who is a shop owner. Allegedly while going to the house of the appellant they also took with them one Ranjit Chandra Dey, sweet meat stall owner with the weighing scale and weights and upon reaching Milangram; from the police men who have been deployed to watch the house of the appellant, they came to know his address. The raiding party went to his house and found him present there. Allegedly in the said house one violet coloured school bag was recovered from beneath the cot of the bed room and upon opening the same, a plastic packet was found which appears to be containing ganja. Weighment of the said material was taken which came to be 500 grams. Samples of ganja so recovered were collected in two packets of 25 grams each for per-serving the same as well as for sending the sample for chemical examination. Allegedly the investigation had been taken up by the Station House Officer himself and upon detecting the procedural irregularity in relation thereto, under the orders of the Dy. S. P. Mayabunder, the Circle Inspector, Rangat took up the investigation and submitted the charge-sheet under. section 20(b)(i) of the said Act.

(3.) The appellant pleaded not guilty to the said charge. In support of its case, the prosecution examined as many as 12 witnesses, PWs-1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 & 11 are said to be the persons who took part in the raid. PW-6 himself who conducted the search sought to prove the seizure of the contraband articles. Several documents had also been proved by the said witness.