PANKAJ KUMAR GHOSH Vs. STATE OF ASSAM

JUDGEMENT

(1.) None appears for and on behalf of the appellant to press the appeal. However, being an old pending one and after considering the nature of challenge before the appeal, this Court propose to dispose of the appeal in presence of the learned Additional Public Prosecutor, Assam.

(2.) It may be mention here that a case was registered by Gauripur PS on 22.07.2009 on the allegation that on receipt of the secret information about forcefully taking away a truck towards Astomirchar in Dhubri, the police proceeded and apprehended a truck No.AS-16/8809 and after checking it was found that the driver of the truck, Moinul Haque was driving the vehicle carrying nine bags of ganja. Gauripur PS Case No.280/09 under Section 20 of NDPS Act was registered. Police seized the truck as well as the Ganja. The sample of seized ganja were sent to FSL. The said driver faced the trial and denied the charge under Section 20(b) of the NDPS Act.

(3.) The learned court on examination of the seven witnesses produced by prosecution and in the light of all materials on record came to a finding that as per the allegation in the FIR itself it depicts that some miscreants took away the aforesaid truck forcefully and by the time police arrived and the said miscreants fled away and only the driver of the truck who was found inside the vehicle was brought to the police station. The Court was of the view that the said seized Ganja was recovered from the truck but the driver was not in conscious position and the real assailant fled away from the place of occurrence. It was found and held that the driver, who merely drives the vehicle in absence of miscreants cannot be presume to be in possession of ganja, as the other culprits fled away. After observing all details, the learned trial court finally held that the prosecution failed to bring home the ingredients of the offence under Section 20(B) of the NDPS Act against the accused and the accused was acquitted by its order dated 12.11.2010 in Special Case No.16/2019. In the said order the learned court has also observed that as the said truck AS-16-8809 was used by some miscreants in transporting the narcotic drug and those persons did not come to the picture to face the trial and accordingly he directed that the aforesaid vehicle be confiscated under Section 60 of the NDPS Act. It is further directed that after auction sell of the aforesaid vehicle in presence of the Magistrate the said amount was deposited before the Treasury.