RAJDEO MANDAL, Vs. STATE OF BIHAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Heard learned counsel for the appellant as well as learned APP for the State.

(2.) This appeal has been preferred against the judgment and order of conviction dated 04.09.2014 and order of sentence dated 09.09.2014 passed by the 1st Additional Sessions Judge, Sitamarhi in Trial No. 29 of 2013/23 of 2014 arising out of Parihar P.S. Case No. 146 of 2012, whereby the learned trial court convicted the appellant under Section 20(b)(II)(C) of the NDPS Act and sentenced him to undergo R.I. for ten years and also slapped him with the fine of Rs. 1 lakh and in case of default of payment of fine, further sentenced him to undergo R.I. for two years.

(3.) The factual matrix of the case is that Parihar P.S. Case No. 146 of 2012 was instituted under Sections 20 and 22 of the N.D.P.S. Act against the accused persons, namely, Rajdeo Mandal, Jamun Sah and Bhola Sah on the basis of the self-statement of S.I. Satyendra Kumar Manjhi of Parihar Police Station recorded at 4 PM on 18.10.2012 at village Gorahari, P.S.-Parihar, District-Sitamarhi with the allegation in succinct that on 18.10.2012 at 3 P.M., during the course of day patrolling at village Gorahari, he received secret information about keeping of the ganja in the house of Rajdeo Mandal for smuggling. On the said information, he along with constable Tribhuwan Naraian Singh, constable 286 Shivmuni Singh, constable 343 Janak Chauhan, constable 341 Naresh Kumar Sharma and constable 173 Durga Ram arrived at the house of Rajdeo Mandal located in the village Gorahari. On seeing the police force, three persons started escaping out of the house. He apprehended one of them after giving chase, while other two managed to escape. On quizzing the apprehended accused disclosed his identity as Rajdeo Mandal and also disclosed the identity of his fleeing accomplices as Jamun Sah and Bhola Sah. Thereafter, he made search of the house of Rajdeo Mandal before the two independent witnesses, namely, Laxmi Sah and Nantun Thakur and recovered 4 bundles of ganja weighing 50 Kg from two rooms. The aforesaid contraband was seized and the seizure list was prepared before the said independent witnesses. A copy of the seizure list was furnished to the accused Rajdeo Mandal.