STATE OF PUNJAB Vs. KAILASH CHANDER

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The accused respondent Kailash Chander was brought to face trial for an offence under Sec. 20 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 (hereinafter referred to as the Act) as he had been found to be in possession of 400 grams of charas in the area of Kapurthala Road, Jalandhar. The trial Court in its judgment dated July 7, 1992 concluded that the respondent was entitled to acquittal on the ground that the provisions of Sec. 50 of the Act had not been complied with and that there was no corroboration of the statements of the police witnesses with regard to the actual search and seizure of the incriminating article from the accused.

(2.) We have gone through the judgment and also the evidence on record with the help of the learned counsel for the parties.

(3.) In the F.I.R. as well as in the evidence of the search witnesses HC Avtar Singh (PW-1) and ASI Jaswant Rai (PW-2), the offer allegedly made under Sec. 50 of the Act was that the accused could, if he so desired, be searched in the presence of a Gazetted Officer. We are of the opinion that this offer was incomplete and did not meet the stringent tests laid down by the Supreme Court in State of Punjab Vs. Baldev Singh, 1999 SCC (Crl.) 1080 with respect to the provisions of Sec. 50 of the Act. We, therefore, find that the acquittal was rightly recorded by the trial court.