BALWINDER SINGH @ BINDER Vs. STATE OF PUNJAB

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE prosecution story is as under : - During the night intervening 14/15.12.1987 a police party headed by Sub Inspector Sant Kumar (PW -2) and including amongst others ASI Charan Singh (PW -1) were holding a Nakabandi in Binjal Chowk on the Raikot -Jagraon high way. At about 1.15 A.M., on 15.12.1987 a tractor -trolley coming from the direction of Jagraon, was signalled to a stop and it transpired that whereas Balwinder Singh alias Binder accused was at the wheel, Amar Singh and Sukhwinder Singh alias Sukha were sitting on the right mudguard of the tractor, whereas four persons, who were sitting on the gunny bags in the trolley managed to run away. SI Sant Kumar made an offer to the accused under Section 50 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substance Act, 1985 (hereinafter called the 'Act'), but on being assured by them that they had full confidence in him, a search was carried out of the trolley and 50 bags of poppy -husk each containing 40 Kgs. were recovered. The four persons who had been apprehended at the spot were accordingly arrested and the identity of those who had been run away was ascertained. The Sub Inspector thereafter sent ruqa (Exh.PF) to the police station for registration of a case, on which a formal FIR (Exh.PF/1) was recorded by ASI Gulzara Ram. SI Sant Kumar also made the necessary enquiries/investigation and also arrested three of the accused, who had run away, whereas accused Raj Singh the fourth one was declared a proclaimed offender. The challan was put up against the accused and they were charged for an offence punishable under Section 15 of the Act, and as they pleaded not guilty, were brought to trial.

(2.) THE prosecution in support of its case relied on the evidence of ASI Charan Singh (PW -1) and SI Sant Kumar (PW -2) and also the circumstance that four of the accused had been arrested at the spot, whereas the other four, who had run away, were also known to SI Sant Kumar previously and had been identified by him and that the articles recovered from the gunny bags had been proved to be poppy -husk in the report of the Chemical Examiner.

(3.) THE trial Court on an appreciation of the evidence held that the involvement of Balbir Singh, Raj Singh, Tarsem Singh and Gurjit Singh, who had alleged to have run away from the spot, had not been proved by observing that SI Sant Kumar's story that they were previously known to them was improbable as he had stated that only those who had run away were previously known to him, while the remaining four who had been arrested from the spot were not known to him. The Court also observed that it would be unsafe to hold as proved the identity of these four persons on the un -corroborated testimony of S.I. Sant Kumar alone. The involvement of the other four accused was, however, held to be proved on account of the fact that they had been arrested at the spot. They were accordingly convicted under Section 15 of the Act and sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for ten years and to pay a fine of Rs. one lac each and in default of payment of fine to undergo further rigorous imprisonment for one year each.