PAUL OSUMBA Vs. STATE OF HARYANA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) PAUL Osumba, a native of Kenya and a student of Khalsa College, Amritsar was tried for an offence under Section 22 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 (the Act in short) by Shri B.L. Singal, Addl. Sessions Judge, Sonepat. He was convicted for that offence and sentenced to rigorous imprisonment for ten years and to pay a fine of Rs. 1,00,000/- and in default thereof, to further undergo RI for two years. Feeling aggrieved against his conviction and sentence, he has come to this Court in appeal.

(2.) THE prosecution allegations, in brief, are to the effect that on 8-5-1989, HC Hori Lal, alongwith Constable Gulshan Kumar, produced the appellant before SI Satish Kumar, with one bag of Raxin and one attache, belonging to. him. HC Hori Lal had confirmed that as soon as train Shan-e-Punjab, running from Ambala Cantt. to New Delhi, stopped at Railway Station Sonepat, he had received secret information that the appellant was carrying Narcotic with him and it was on that information that he had brought the appellant and his luggage. The SI then made enquiry from the appellant if he desired that his search should be conducted in presence of a gazetted officer a Magistrate. The appellant, however, did not want any such officer to be present and his search was then carried out in presence of Kanwal Singh, 14C Hori Lal and Constable Gulshan Kumar. From the Raxin Bag, two small bags of cloth were recovered.

(3.) THE appellant, when examined, denied the prosecution allegations. He pleaded that he was proceeding to Delhi on way to his country Kenya. No intoxicating material was recovered from him. An unclaimed brief case was lying there in the train and if something was recovered from the same, it was falsely planted on him. He, however, did not lead any defence.