BHUP SINGH Vs. STATE OF HARYANA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS is a criminal appeal and has been directed against the judgment and order dated 19th May, 1995 passed by the learned Additional Sessions Judge, Hisar, who convicted the appellant under Section 15 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 (for short 'the Act') and sentenced him to undergo rigorous imprisonment for a period of 10 years and to pay a fine of Rs. 1,00,000/- or in default of payment of fine, he was ordered to undergo further rigorous imprisonment for one year.

(2.) THE brief facts of the case can be described in the following manner :- Shri Ronki Ram, S.I., then S.H.O. of Police Station, Adampur, received a secret information against the accused on 10th April, 1994 to the effect that the appellant was in possession of poppy husk. Resultantly, the Investigating Officer prepared a raiding party headed by him and comprising of Ram Niwas, A.S.I., and other police officials. The F.I.R., copy of which is Ex.PG, was recorded in the police station and then the police party proceeded in an official jeep to the bus stop of village Kohli. From there Parbhu P.W. was joined in the raiding party and they reached the bridge of a minor canal near Adampur in the area of village Kohli. Accused Bhup Singh was found present near the cattle Ghat with four bags. He was sitting on one of those bags and it was suspected that some contraband substance was contained in the bags. Offer was made to the accused that his search was to be conducted and if he so wanted he could be taken before a Magistrate a Gazetted Officer. The accused expressed that he was ready to give search in the presence of a Gazetted Officer. First of all the Investigating Officer went to the Tehsil Office, Adampur, which was closed. Thereafter the accused, the bags and the witness were taken to the house of Shri Prem Chand, Naib Tehsildar-cum-Executive Magistrate. Application (Ex.PC) was made before the Executive Magistrate and the search regarding the contents of the bags was conducted in his presence. Poppy husk was found in the bags. Sample of 200 grams of poppy husk was separated from each of the four bags and made into separate sealed parcels by using the seal of Shri Prem Chand, bearing inscription 'PC'. The residue in each of the four bags weighed 39 Kgs. 800 grams. The entire case property was taken into possession vide recovery memo. (Ex.PD). The accused could not produce any licence or permit for keeping in possession the poppy husk. The Thanedar also prepared rough site plan of the place of recovery and recorded the statements of the witnesses. Thereafter the Thanedar returned to the Police Station and handed over the case property with seals intact to the M.H.C. for safe custody. Ultimately, the sample of the contraband was sent to the office of the Chemical Examiner, who found the same to be poppy husk vide report (Ex.PL).

(3.) IN order to prove the charge, the prosecution examined P.W.1 Constable Lakshmi Narain, who tendered in evidence affidavit (Ex.PA); P.W.2 Head Constable Vijay Singh, who gave his statement vide affidavit (Ex.PB); P.W.3 Prem Chand, Naib Tehsildar-cum-Executive Magistrate, Pilu Khera; P.W.4 A.S.I. Ram Niwas; and the Investigating Officer Ronki Ram, who appeared as P.W.5. Prabhu P.W. was given up by the prosecution as having been won over by the accused.