KARAN BAHADUR Vs. STATE OF H P

JUDGEMENT

(1.) APPELLANT has appealed against the judgment, dated 1. 12. 2004 of the trial Court, whereby he has been convicted of an offence, punishable under Section 20 of the Narcotic Drugs and psychotropic Substances Act and sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for ten years and to pay a fine of Rs. 1,00,000 in default of payment of fine to undergo imprisonment for a further period of four years.

(2.) PROSECUTION case, as it emerges from the evidence on record, may be stated thus. On 3. 11. 2003, at 2. 00 a. m. , a police party, headed by police SI Balwant Singh of which pw6 Constable Gurdyal Singh, HC Harbans lal, HHG Chaman Lal and HHG Hukam ram, were the other members, left Police post, Manikaran, for patrolling. PW 7 SI balwant Singh was the In-charge of Police post, Manikaran those days. The party organized and Nakka at a place called Kochhar. Around 6a. m. , appellant accompanied by a young lad, named Resham, appeared from the side of village Shetiran. He was carrying a haversack on his back. On seeing the police, the appellant and the young boy accompanying him, tried to flee. They were overpowered. Haversack, which the appellant was carrying, was searched and it was found to contain 5 kgs of charas. Two samples, each weighing 25 grams, were separated from the recovered stuff. The samples and the bulk charas were made into separate parcels and the same were sealed with a seal, which produced impression of english letter 'b'. NUB Form was filled in, in triplicate. Search and seizure memo was prepared. The appellant and the boy accompanying him were taken into custody and they were apprised of the grounds of arrest. Written report of the matter was drawn and sent to the Police Station through PW6 Con-stable Gurdyal Singh. Case was formally registered on the basis of that report. PW 7 si Balwant Singh produced the parcels con-taining the bulk recovered stuff and the samples, to SHO, namely PW5 SI Kamla, who resealed the parcels with her own seal and made entries in NCB Form about the seals affixed by her on the parcels. One of the sample parcels was sent to Chemical examiner, who on analysis, opined that the parcel contained charas.

(3.) TRIAL Court charged the appellant with an offence under Section 20 of the Narcotic drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act and on his pleading not guilty, put him on trial. Prosecution examined PW 7 SI Balwant singh, who headed the police party and PW6 constable Gurdyal, one of the members of the party that intercepted the appellant, with a haversack, containing charas to prove the fact of search and seizure.