STATE OF JAMMU Vs. PARSHOTAM SINGH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Challenge in this appeal has been thrown to the judgment dtd. 21/8/2014, passed by learned Special Judge, Kathua, in file No. 71/Special, titled 'State v. Parshotam Singh' vide which respondents came to be acquitted, in FIR No. 63 of 2010, for offences under Sec. 7/20/21 of Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 (NDPS Act, for short).

(2.) Before we advert to the grounds of challenge urged in the memo of appeal, it shall be apt to have a bird's eye-view of the back ground facts.

(3.) The prosecution case is that on 1/9/2010, a police party of Police Station, Lakhanpur, headed by ASI-Ganesh Raj laid a nakka at Lakhanpur. At around 9 : 30 am, a scooter bearing Registration No. JK02N-7063 being driven by respondent No. 1, with respondent No. 2 as a pillion rider on its way from Punjab to Jammu was intercepted and on checking the dickey of the said scooter, 3700 Pyremal Spas capsules, contained in a polythene bag, came to be recovered. According to the prosecution, respondents failed to furnish any satisfactory explanation much less a permission or a license for transportation of the said capsules. The aforesaid FIR came to be registered and during investigation, the investigation agency, besides other legal formalities, extracted a sample of 50 capsules for its chemical examination through FSL. The said sample came to be re-sealed from the Executive Magistrate. The respondents came to be arrested and statements of witnesses under Sec. 161 Cr. P.C. were recorded. As a result, the investigation concluded in the presentation of final report for the aforesaid offences in terms of Sec. 173 Cr. P.C. against the respondents, before the trial court. The respondents came to be charged by the trial court for the aforesaid offences whereby they pleaded innocence and claimed trial, prompting the trial court to ask for the prosecution evidence. Prosecution has examined all the witnesses but the Investigating officer.