UJJAGGAR SINGH Vs. PUNJAB STATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) BY this judgment I dispose of Crl. Appeals 531-SB (Ujjaggar Singh v. Punjab State) and 578-SB (Bhupinder Singh etc. v. Punjab State), both of 1997, as in the opinion of this Court, both these appeals can be disposed of by one judgment as both these appeals have been directed against the judgment and order dated 16.7.1997, passed by the Court of the Additional Sessions Judge, Amritsar, who convicted the appellants in both the appeals, under Section 15 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 (hereinafter referred to as "the Act") and sentenced each one of them to undergo R.I. for a period of 10 years and to pay a fine of Rs. 1 lac each; in default of payment of fine, the appellants were directed to undergo R.I. for one year each.

(2.) THE brief facts of the case are that on 12.8.1988 at about 6.40 P.M. the police party consisting of Ajaib Singh, Inspector, SI Rachhpal Singh, Swaran Singh, DSP, and other police officials, was present at Raikot Railway Crossing, Malerkotla. They received a secret information there that the accused Bhupinder Singh, Ujjaggar Singh, Darshan Singh and Joginder Singh had kept bags of poppy husk in the sugar cane fields of Puran Singh in the area of village Badrawan and they were selling poppy husk at that place and if a raid is conducted, heavy recovery can be effected. On this information, ruqa, Ex. P.F. was prepared by Inspector Ajaib Singh and it was sent to the police station for the registration of the case, on the basis of which formal FIR Ex. PF/1, was recorded. Thereafter, the police party went to the aforesaid place for conducting a raid and all the four appellants were found sitting on the heap of bags of poppy husk in the sugar cane fields of Puran Singh in the area of village Badrawan and all of them were arrested. In all 81 bags, each containing 40 kgs. of poppy husk, were recovered. The I.O. separated 250 grams of poppy husk from each of the bags and made a sealed parcel thereof. The remaining poppy husk was also sealed. Both the samples and the remaining bulk were sealed with the seals bearing inscription 'AS'. The entire case property was taken into possession vide recovery memo, Ex. PB, which is attested by ASI Joginder Singh, independent witness Dalip Singh, DSP Swaran Singh besides the I.O. Ajaib Singh. The sample impression of the seal used was also prepared. The I.O. also prepared the rough site plan, Ex. PL, of the place of recovery. The samples of poppy husk were sent to the Chemical Examiner who vide report, Ex. PE, declared the contents as Chura of the Poppy Head and on the completion of the investigation of the case, the appellants were challaned in the court of the Area Magistrate, who supplied the copies of the documents to the appellants free of cost as required under the law and vide commitment order dated 27.2.1989, committed the accused to the court of sessions to face trial.

(3.) IN order to substantiate the charge, the prosecution examined Dalip Singh, independent witness as PW-1 who deposed that he was never joined in the investigation of this case and nothing was recovered by the police from the possession of the appellants. So much so, he even stated that he did not know the appellants at all. This witness was declared hostile and inspite of the fact that an opportunity was granted to the prosecution to cross-examine this witness, nothing has been yielded by him for the benefit of the prosecution. In cross-examination, he gave a different story altogether by stating as follows :-