MOQUIM Vs. STATE OF BIHAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) ALL the appellants have been convicted under section 20(b)(i) of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 (in short the Act) and sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for 7 years each with a fine of Rs.50,000/ - each.

(2.) THE brief facts of the case as per the case instituted on the basis of the Fardbeyan of one Pramod Kant, Officer Incharge of the Industrial police station are that on the day of occurrence i.e. on 18.12.1996 the house of the appellants was to be raided in course of investigation in Case No. 281 of 1996 under section 392 of the Indian Penal Code. Besides the informant raiding party with other officers including Satrughan Choudhary, S.I., Sadar Anchal, T.N. Biswan, Officer Incharge of Sabour police station, R.R. Dayasi, Officer Incharge . of Tilkamanjhi police station, Karambir Singh A.S.I., Chitranjan Mishra, A.S.I. and Sudama Singh A.S.I. Deputy Superintendent of Police was constituted. They searched the joint house of the appellants at about 1. P.M. in presence of independent witnesses, namely, Md. Ayub and Gulam Sarwar. During the search they recovered 3 kg. of Ganja which was kept in tin box from that joint house. The appellant Md. Saina was present but he could not produce any paper regarding the article. A seizure list was prepared in presence of abovementioned independent witness on which besides two witnesses appellant no. 3 Md. Saina also signed. The informant was of the opinion that both the three appellants were engaged in illegal contraband business and they also kept the stolen property as during the raid a T.V. set, a deck and a sound box was also recovered. On the basis of the aforesaid Fardbeyan a formal F.I.R. was lodged. After investigation the charge -sheet under section 20(b) (i) of the Act and 414 of the Indian Penal Code was submitted and finally the trial concluded with the result as indicated above.

(3.) THE prosecution has examined altogether 6 witnesses in order to prove its case. P.W. 1, Md. Ayub and P.W. 2 Md. Gulam Sarwar are seizure list witnesses. They have not supported the prosecution case and have been declared hostile P.W. 3 is Deputy Superintendent of Police who. was leading the raiding party. P.W, 4, is Chandrika Prasad, P.W. 6, Pramod Kant is the informant P.W. 5, Sudama Singh is the I.O. of this case and also accompanying the raiding party. P.W. 5, Karanbir Singh is an eye witness.