STATE OF HIMACHAL PRADESH Vs. ANIL KUMAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The State has come up in appeal under Section 378 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (for short 'Code') against the judgment rendered by learned Special Judge, Chamba Division, Chamba, H.P. in Sessions Trial No.13 of 2009 whereby the respondent/accused (hereinafter referred to as the 'accused') was charged for offence under Section 20 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act (for short NDPS Act), has been acquitted.

(2.) The prosecution story which emerges from the record is that on 19.1.2009, H.C. Manohar Kumar (PW-11) the then Investigating Officer, Police Station, Tissa alongwith C. Sunil Kumar, SPO Tej Singh (PW-1) and SPO Jan Mohd. (PW-2) were present at Seri Morh at 8.35 P.M. on patrolling duty and the accused came there on foot from Tissa side, who on seeing the police party tried to run away but was nabbed by the police. HC Manohar Kumar (PW-11) gave option to the accused whether he wanted to be searched by the police or the Magistrate or the gazette officer vide memo Ex. PW-11/A, but the accused consented to be searched by the police and thereafter the personal search of the accused was carried out in presence of Abdul Mazid (PW-3) and a polythene envelope of red colour was recovered from the jacket which the accused was wearing and on opening of the polythene envelope, it was found to be containing Charas which on weighing was found to be 1 Kg.80 gms. Two samples each weighing 25 grms. were separated from the charas so recovered and were packed in two separate parcels and each of the parcel was sealed by affixing three seals of impression 'A'. The residue charas was put in the same polythene envelope and thereafter it was sealed in a parcel with the same seal impression at five places and the specimen of the seal used was taken separately and the case property was seized vide memo Ex.PW-3/A. NCB form Ex.PW-10/B was filled in triplicate by HC Manohar Kumar and site plan Ex.PW-11/C was prepared separately. Rukka Ex.PW-11/B was prepared and sent to Police Station, Tissa through SPO Jan Mohd. On receipt of which FIR Ex.PW- 6/C came to be recorded at Police Station, Tissa by ASI Mulakh Raj (PW-10), who also made endorsement Ex.PW-10/A on the Rukka and copy of the Rukka was also sent to S.P., Chamba through Constable Sunil Kumar. The accused was thereafter arrested and he alongwith the case property was produced before ASI Mulakh Raj (PW-10), who resealed the parcel containing residue charas with five seals of impression 'M' and the sample parcels by affixing three seals on each parcel of the same impression and specimen of the seal used was taken separately which is Ex P-5. Reseal memo Ex.PW-8/A was prepared by ASI Mulakh Raj in the presence of Constable Yog Raj (PW-8) and he also filled columns No.9 to 11 of the NCB form Ex.PW-10/B. The case property alongwith NCB forms and specimen seal impressions were deposited with HC Madan Lal (PW-6), the then MHC, Police Station, Tissa, who made entry in the Malkhana Register, copy of which is Ex.PW-6/A. On 21.1.2009, one sample parcel alongwith specimen seals, copy of seizure memo, NCB form and copy of FIR was sent to FSL, Junga through Const. Karam Singh (PW-7) vide R/C No. 159/2009, copy of which is Ex.PW-6/B and as per report of Chemical Examiner Ex.PW-9/A, the entire mass of the sample is mixture of cannabis and sample of charas. Special report Ex.PW-5/B was prepared which was forwarded to S.P., Chamba through HHC Raghubir Singh (PW-4). The statements of the witnesses were recorded by HC Manohar Kumar as per their versions.

(3.) After completion of the investigation, the challan was presented in the Court of learned Special Judge, Chamba, who framed the charge under Section 20 of the Act, to which the accused pleaded not guilty and claimed trial.