SATNARAYAN Vs. STATE OF H.P.

JUDGEMENT

(1.) APPELLANT Satnarayan has appealed against the judgment, dated 19th July, 2006, whereby he has been convicted of offence, 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 rigorous imprisonment for a further period of two years.

(2.) PROSECUTIONS case may be stated thus. On 7th January, 2005, a Police Party, comprising ASI Trilok Singh, HC Palam Singh (PW -6), HC Jagdish Chand (PW -10), Constable Vijay Kumar (PW -7) and four -five other Constables, left Police Station Tissa, for routine traffic checking and patrolling. When party reached at a place called Kalhel, around 7.40 a.m., a bus of Himachal Road Transport Corporation (HRTC), No.HP -48 -0919, headed for Chamba, came from Bhanjraru side. It was got stopped. Two Police Parties, one headed by ASI Trilok Chand and the other headed by PW -6 HC Palam Singh, entered the bus. Party headed by PW -6 HC Palam Singh entered through the back window. Appellant was found sitting on Seat No.37 in that bus. He had a polythene bag, which was placed on his legs. On search, it was found to contain two small sized bags and those bags contained Charas, which weighed 2 kg. Bag of the appellant was searched in the presence of PW -1 Sant Singh, a Dhaba owner at Kalhel, and PW -2 Balbir Singh, Inspector of HRTC. From the recovered Charas, two samples, each weighing 20 grams, were separated. Samples and the bulk Charas were made into separate parcels and were sealed with a seal that produced impression of letter ˜T of English alphabet. Case property was produced to PW -11 Hem Singh, SHO, Police Station Tissa, who affixed his own seal that produced the impression of letter ˜S of English alphabet. Case property was kept in the Malkhanaby PW -6 HC Palam Singh himself, because he was officiating as MHC also, during those days. One of the two samples was sent to the Chemical Examiner, who, vide report Ex. PW -10/D, opined that it contained 30.07 per cent resin of cannabis plant.

(3.) PROSECUTION examined PW -1 Sant Singh and PW -2 Balbir Singh, the alleged two independent witnesses. Both of them turned hostile. Other witnesses of search and seizure, examined by the prosecution, were PW -6 HC Palam Singh, PW -7 Constable Ajay Kumar and PW -10 HC Jagdish Chand. They all stated that the appellant was occupying Seat No.37 in the bus and he had a plastic bag in his lap and in that plastic bag there were two other small sized bags, which contained Charas. Appellant took the plea that the bus was stopped at Kalhel, in front of tea shops and he alongwith other passengers alighted from the bus to take tea and when he was taking tea at the Dhaba of PW -1 Sant Singh, police people came with a bag containing Charas and told that the Charas belonged to him.