RAJU KURMI Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) CRIMINAL Appeal nos. 270 and 363, both of 1999, aforesaid, were tagged to be heard together and Criminal Appeal no. 169 of 2000, separately. All the appeals have been heard together as the main point involved as argued by learned counsel for the aforesaid appellants, was common, that is, whether or not provisions of section 50 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 (hereinafter referred to as &aposthe Act&apos) were complied with. This judgment will dispose of all these three appeals.

(2.) RAJU Kurmi and Bhulan Chaudhary were convicted by the learned Second Additional District and Sessions Judge, East Champaran, at Motihari, under section 23 of the Act and appellant Raju Kurmi was sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for ten years and a fine of rupees one lac whereas Bhulan Chaudhary was ordered to undergo rigorous imprisonment for fourteen years and a fine of rupees one lac and fifty thousand. In default to pay fine, appellant to undergo imprisonment for two years and six months and Bhulan Chaudhary, three years and six months.

(3.) IN so far as appellants in Appeal nos. 270 and 363, both of the year 1999, are concerned, the prosecution case, as in the complaint filed by Union of India through Sri B.K. Srivastava, inspector of Customs at Raxaul, is that a raiding party was formed of customs officers at Raxaul on receipt of 4/1/2013 Page 172 Maliram Puranchand Versus Bihar Agricultural Produce Market Committee, Gaya information about smuggling of &aposCharas&apos through "Sadbhawana Express" and on search three persons fled away from the compartment but two were caught first, and after some time, third one, Raju Kurmi, was also caught. Out of the two caught, Dinesh Kaper does not appear to have preferred appeal. As per the complaint, on search three kilograms, two kilograms and one kilogram of Charas were recovered respectively, from the three arrested persons. The samples of alleged charas were produced in the court and marked material Exhibits. The expert&aposs report (Exhibit -6) found the examined samples to be &aposcharas&apos.