STATE OF H.P. Vs. DES RAJ

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The State has come up in appeal against the judgment dated 16th June, 2011, passed by learned Special Judge, Fast Track Court, Chamba, District Chamba, in Session Trial No. 12/2011, whereby the respondent, hereinafter referred to as "the accused", has been acquitted of the Charge under Sec. 20 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985, hereinafter referred to as "the Act", in short.

(2.) The challenge to the impugned judgment is on the grounds, inter alia, that learned trial Judge has failed to appreciate the evidence available on record in its right perspective and recorded the findings qua acquittal of the accused in a perfunctory and slipshod manner and also on flimsy grounds. The testimony of the prosecution witnesses is stated to have been discarded without assigning any reason.

(3.) The present is a case where PW -13 ASI Jeet Singh has allegedly recovered Charas, weighing 2.550 Kgs. on 28.2.2011 at 12.15 p.m., near Petrol Pump, Banikhet, within the jurisdiction of Police Station, Dalhousie, in the presence of independent witnesses PW -2 Shri Purshotam and PW -3 Shri Vijay Kumar and also the official witnesses, PW -1 Constable Suneel Kumar and PW -4 Jaram Singh. Before that PW -13 ASI Jeet Singh had allegedly received a secret information around 11 a.m., to the effect that the accused a resident of village Khurla Kingra, Jallandhar, Punjab, a drug peddler, has gone towards Chamba side on 27.2.2011 on Scooter No. PB -08 -Y -4842. Also that he used to carry Charas by hiding the same beneath the fuel tank of his scooter and that if Naaka is arranged, he can be nabbed alongwith Charas. The information so received was reduced into writing and forwarded to Superintendent of Police, Chamba, through PW -4 HHC Jaram Singh and PW -6 HHC Palwinder Singh.