TEJA SINGH Vs. STATE OF PUNJAB

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS criminal appeal is directed against the judgment and order dated 1.10.1992 passed by the Additional Sessions Judge, Barnala vide which the accused has been convicted under Section 15 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 (in short 'the Act') and sentenced to 10 years' rigorous imprisonment and to pay a fine of Rs. 1,00,000/- and in default of payment of fine to further undergo rigorous imprisonment for a period of one year.

(2.) IN brief, the case of the prosecution is that on 7.7.1988 ASI-Bakshish Singh of Police Station Tapa received a secret information that accused-Teja Singh of village Pakho Kalan was in possession of a huge quantity of poppy husk. On the basis of that information he recorded FIR, Exhibit PG in the police station and constituted a raiding party consisting of HC-Kishan Singh and other police officials. On his way to village Pakho Kalan, he joined one Babu Singh, PW resident of village Pakho Kalan, who met him on the road. The raiding party along with said Babu Singh went to the house of the accused and found him present there. On interrogation, the accused made a disclosure statement, Exhibit PE, stating that he had kept concealed 20 bags containing poppy husk in Turi Wala Kotha of his house under Turi and offered to get the same recovered. On the basis of the disclosure statement, the raiding party got recovered 20 bags, Exhibit P1 to P20 containing 40 kags. poppy husk each from the disclosed place. Samples of 250 grams of poppy husk were taken out of each bag and were sealed with the seal BS. The bags containing the remaining poppy husk were also separately sealed with the same seal. These articles were taken into possession vide Memo-Exhibit PF. The accused was arrested and samples were sent to the Chemical Examiner who submitted reports Exhibit PD and Exhibit PD/1 to the effect that sample contained poppy heads as they were containing meconic acid and morphine. On completion of investigation of the case, the accused was challaned under Section 15 of the Act and the case was committed to the Court of Sessions.

(3.) IN order to prove its case, the prosecution produced PW-4 ASI Bakhshish Singh, the recovery witness who proved the site plan, Exhibit PH, of the place of recovery and deposed that he had deposited the case property with seals intact with the MHC on the same day. HC-Kishan Singh appeared as PW-3 and corroborated the version of ASI-Bakhshish Singh, PW-4 about the recovery. HC- Sukhdev Singh and HC-Darshan Singh while appearing as PW-1 and PW-2 proved their affidavits Exhibits PA and PB, respectively. Affidavit PC of Bhupinder Singh, Constable was also relied upon as link evidence that there was no tampering with the sample till they were deposited in the office of the Chemical Examiner.