SEWAK SINGH Vs. STATE OF PUNJAB

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This appeal has been directed against the judgment and order dated 19th November, 1997 passed by the Court of Additional Sessions Judge, Amritsar, vide which the appellant was convicted under Section 22 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 (for short 'the Act') and was sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for a period of 10 years on each count. The appellant was further directed to pay a fine of Rs. 1,00,000/- or in default of payment of fine each one of them was directed to undergo rigorous imprisonment for a period of three years.

(2.) BRIEF facts of the case can be noticed in the following manner :- On 9th January, 1994 S.H.O. Jagdip Singh of Police Station, Patti along with A.S.I. Kamal Kishore, A.S.I. Jagjit Singh, A.S.I. Balbir Singh and other police officials under the supervision of Shri Ravi Bhushan, D.S.P. Patti, along with his gunmen, on the instructions of Senior Superintendent of Police, Tarn Taran, were present at Lahore Chowk, Patti, in connection with picket duty. A secret information was received by Inspector Jagdip Singh that the accused Sewak Singh son of Hari Singh, resident of Rajoke, who was running Bhuller Medical Store, Gandhi Sath, Patti, has kept large quantity of intoxicant medicines and injections and if raid was conducted, he could be apprehended with large quantity of the same. On receipt of the secret information Inspector Jagdip Singh, S.H.O. of Police Station Patti, recorded ruqa (Ex.PE) and sent it to the Police Station on the basis of which formal F.I.R. was recorded. Then the Police Party reached the shop of Sewak Singh accused. He was found present there. The accused was asked that the Police Party wanted to search his shop and offered him to get the search of the shop conducted in the presence of Magistrate or the D.S.P. accompanying the Police Party. The accused reposed confidence to get the search conducted in the presence of the D.S.P. On this consent memo. of the accused was reduced into writing, which was signel by the accused and attested by the D.S.P., Inspector Jagdip Singh and the witnesses. The search of the shop of the accused was conducted and two big boxes containing 50 small boxes, each box containing 100 intoxicant injections. The total injections were 10,000, which were recovered from the possession of the accused. The accused could not produce any licence or permit to retain the injections with him. The injections were kept in the same boxes and two big parcels were prepared which were sealed with the seal 'JS' and the entire case property was seized vide recovery memo. (Ex. PD), which was signed by the D.S.P. and other witnesses. Inspector Jagdip Singh prepared rough site plan with correct marginal notes, recorded the statements of the witnesses and on return to the Plice Station, he deposited the case property with the Moharrir Head Constable. Both the big parcels containing 10,000 injections were sent to the Forensic Science Laboratory, Chandigarh, for analysis and on receipt of the report from the Forensic Science Laboratory and after completion of the investigation, the accused was challaned under Section 22 of the Act in the Court of the Illaqa Magistrate, who supplied copies of the documents to the accused and the accused was ultimately committed to the Court of Sessions vide order dated 2nd May, 1994 passed by the Sub Divisional Judicial Magistrate, Patti. Learned Additional Sessions Judge framed charge under Section 22 of the Act against him on 13th July, 1994 on the allegation that on 9th January, 1994 in the area of Patti he was found in possession of 10,000 Morphine Injections (Intoxicants) without any licence or permit and thereby he committed an offence punishable under Section 22 of the Act. The charges was read over and explained to the appellant, to which he pleaded not guilty and claimed trial.

(3.) THE accused was examined under Section 313 of the Code of Criminal Procedure and all the incriminating circumstances appearing in the prosecution case were put to him, to which the accused denied and stated that he had been falsely implicated and no recovery was effected from him. In defence he examined D.W.1 Shri Balbir Singh, Head Constable, and according to this witness Roznamcha dated 9th January, 1994 had already been destroyed.