HRUSHI ALIAS HURUSI BEHERA Vs. STATE OF ORISSA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE appellant in this appeal has challenged the order passed by the 2nd Additional Sessions Judge, Puri, in S.T. No. 27/12 of 1993 convicting him under Section 18 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act (hereinafter the Act) and sentencing him to undergo rigorous imprisonment for ten years and also to pay a fine of rupees one lakh, in default, to undergo rigorous imprisonment for one more year. It may be stated here that the appellant is now aged about 72 years and has already spent more than ten years and four months in jail custody.

(2.) BRIEFLY stated, the prosecution case is that P.Ws. 3 and 4, who were respectively the Sub Inspector of Excise and Constable of Excise, were on patrolling duty on 19.6.1992 at the Balugaon Railway Station. On arrival of Palasa Puri train on platform No. 3 at about 8 A.M., P.W. 3 got information that the accused appellant was coming with a bag load of Opium poppy dust. Immediately thereafter, P.W. 3 found the accused coming with a gunny bag on his head. He detained the accused and called two witnesses, i.e., P.Ws. 1 and 2, to that place and asked the accused as to whether he intended to be searched by him at the spot or in presence of the Gazetted Officer, P.W. 3 also served a written notice (Ext. 3) on the accused showing his intention and offer wherein the accused put his signature as well as the L.T.I. When the accused expressed his desire to be searched by P.W. 3 at the spot, the latter after giving his personal search to the witnesses in presence of the accused, searched the accused and brought the gunny bag from the accused from which it was found that the same contained Opium poppy capsules. On weighment, the Opium poppy capsule was found to be 15 kgs. P.W. 3 then took out 100 gms. of Opium poppy capsules from the gunny bag and prepared a sample packet and seized the Opium Poppy capsules in the gunny bag in presence of the witnesses as per the seizure list Ext. 1/1 in which the accused put his signature and the L.T.I. The witnesses also put their signatures on the same. The gunny bag containing the recovered Opium poppy capsules (M.O.I.) was sealed with paper seal. P.W. 3 also sealed the sample quantity kept in a polythelene bag by paper wrapper (Ext. 2/1). The witnesses put their signatures on the seizure list as well as on the paper seals on the gunny bag as well as sample packet.

(3.) FOUR witnesses were examined on behalf of the prosecution to bring home the charge. The prosecution also relied upon several documents Exts. 1 to 8 and M.Os. I and II.