PRITAM KUMAR Vs. STATE OF PUNJAB

JUDGEMENT

(1.) By this judgment I dispose of three Criminal Appeal is Nos. 65-SB of 1995 titled Pritam Kumar v. State of Punjab, 163-SB of 1995 titled Amar Singh v. State of Punjab, and 119-SB of 1995 titled Bhupinder Kumar v. State of Punjab, as in the opinion of this Court all the three appeals can be disposed of by one judgment.

(2.) Vide the impugned judgment dated 24th January, 1995 the trial Court convicted and sentenced Pritam Kumar and Amar Singh under Section 18 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 (for short 'the Act') and sentenced each one of them to undergo rigorous imprisonment for a period of one year and to pay a fine of Rs. 1,00,000/-. In default of payment of fine, each one of them was directed to undergo rigorous imprisonment for a period of one year. Vide the said impugned order the case property along with the jeep was confiscated to the State. The vehicle is owned by Shri Bhupinder Kumar, has filed Criminal Appeal No.119 of 1995 and he is aggrieved by the order confiscation and has pleaded that the provisions of section 63 of the Act have been complied with before ordering the confiscation of the jeep by the trial Court, as no opportunity of being heard has been given to them under the law.

(3.) Some of the facts can be noticed in the following manner :