BINOD YADAV Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Both these two criminal appeals, preferred under Sec. 374[2], Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 ['the Code' or 'CrPC', for short] read with Sec. 36B of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 ['the NDPS Act', for short] are directed against a Judgment and Order dt. 3/10/2016 passed by the Court of learned Sessions Judge [FTC] No. 3, Kamrup [Metro], Guwahati [hereinafter referred to as 'the Special Court', for short] in NDPS Case no. 24 of 2015, which arose out of Customs Case no. 06/CL/NARC/AS/GAU/2014-15 dtd. 5/12/2014. The criminal appeal, numbered as Criminal Appeal no. 67 of 2019 is preferred by the accused-appellant, Binod Yadav [hereinafter also referred to as 'A-1', at places, for easy reference] whereas the other criminal appeal, numbered as Criminal Appeal no. 283 of 2017 is preferred by the accused-appellant, Avneesh Kumar Rajput [hereinafter also referred to as 'A-2', at places, for easy reference].

(2.) By the Judgment and Order dtd. 03/10/2016, bo th the accused-appellants have been convicted for the offence under Sec. 20[b][ii][C] of the NDPS Act, 1985 ['the NDPS Act', for short]. On finding the accused-appellants guilty of the offence under Sec. 20[b][ii][C], NDPS Act, they have been sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for fifteen years each and to pay a fine of Rs.1,00,000.00 each, in default of payment of fine, to undergo imprisonment for another year. It has been observed that the period already undergone in jail by the accused appellants shall be set-off under Sec. 428, CrPC.

(3.) The case of the prosecution was stated in a Report filed by the Investigating Officer [I.O.] of the case before the Court of learned Chief Judicial Magistrate, Kamrup [Metro], Guwahati on 6/12/2014 in connection with Customs Case no. 06/CL/NARC/AS/GAU/2014-15 dtd. 5/12/2014, immediately after the alleged seizure of 1093.68 Kgs of Cannabis [Ganja] on 5/12/2014. For ready reference, the relevant excerpts of the said Report filed by the I.O. [P.W.8], an Inspector of Customs at the Anti-Smuggling Unit, Customs Division, Guwahati and empowered under Sec. 53 of the NPDS Act, are reproduced hereinbelow :-