NARESH @ NARAHARI Vs. STATE OF ODISHA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The Appellant, by filing this Appeal, has assailed the judgment of conviction and order of sentence dtd. 31/10/2003 passed by the learned Judge, Special Court-cum- Sessions Judge, Dhenkanal in Special Case No.74/1999 (Trial Case No.5 of 2000). The Appellant (accused) thereunder has been convicted for commission of the offence under Sec. 20(b)(i) of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 (in short, 'the N.D.P.S. Act') and accordingly he has been sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for two (02) years and pay fine of Rs.10,000.00 (Rupees Ten Thousand) in default to suffer rigorous imprisonment for six months.

(2.) The prosecution case, in short, is that on 24/11/1999 around 6 am, the Officer-in-Charge (OIC) Gondia Police Station (P.W.6) received reliable information regarding possession of contraband ganja by the accused in his house at village Letheka. Having entered the said fact in the Station Diary book maintained at the police station, he reported the same to the Superintendent of Police, Dhenkanal by sending a copy of the said information reduced into writing in the entry of the Station Diary. The OIC (P.W.6) then immediately with the Executive Magistrate (P.W.5) and other staff proceeded to the village. P.W.5 having ascertained the location of the house of the accused in the said village, decided to raid the house. The accused being called, came out of his house. P.W.5 then gave their identity to the accused whose identity in turn was also ascertained. Personal search of the house of the accused being made, it is stated that no such incriminating materials was recovered. The house of the accused was then searched. P.W.5 and others in course of search of the said house found one bag containing marked "TATA TEA" under lock and key to have been lying underneath the cot kept in the bed room of the house of the accused and smell of Ganja was emitting therefrom. It is stated that the key of the lock put on the bag was with the accused. So, he was asked to open the bag. The bag being opened, was found to contain Ganja. The contents of the bags being weighed, the weight came to be 4 (four) Kg. P.W.5 collected two parts of samples each weighing 50 grams from the contents of the said bag. The sample packets were sealed by using the brass seal of P.W.5. The brass seal was also used in sealing the bag where the residue Ganja were kept. The brass seal was then given in zima of one Kailash Mahalik (P.W.2). The articles recovered along with the sample packets were seized at the spot under seizure list (Ext.1/2). The plain paper FIR (Ext.6) was drawn at the spot by P.W.6. The accused was arrested and he with the seized articles and documents prepared at the spot were brought to the Police Station. A detail report (Ext.7) with regard to the search, seizure and arrest of the accused was submitted to the Superintendent of Police, Dhenkanal. At the Police Station, case was registered and then the seized articles were kept in the Malkhana of the Police Station. On the next day, that is 25/11/1999, the accused was forwarded in custody to the Court and so also the seized articles were produced with the prayer to send the two sample packets to State Forensic science Laboratory, Rasulgarh for chemical examination under the forwarding letter (Ext.10) of the Special Court. The report received was to the effect that the samples were nothing but Ganja.

(3.) On completion of investigation, Final Form was submitted placing the accused to face the trial for commission of offence under Sec. 20(b)(i) of the NDPS Act and the accused faced the trial being charged for committing the said offence for being in possession of 4 Kgs of Ganja.