BHARAT SINGH & ANR. Vs. STATE & ANR.

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Appellants Bharat Singh (A-1) and Ashok Kumar (A-2) are in appeal against judgment dated 26.04.2012 of the learned Sessions Judge, Jammu, in file No. 292/Sessions whereby the appellants have been convicted under sections 21 and 23 of The Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 for (short the NDPS Act) and order dated 27.04.2012, whereby each of the appellants have been sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for a period of twenty years and pay a fine of one lac rupees. It is ordered also that in default of payment of fine, they shall suffer imprisonment for a period of live years.

(2.) Heard. We have perused the record.

(3.) Facts of the prosecution case, briefly, are that in the night intervening 30th and 31st Jan., 1998, the appellants were accosted by an Army Surveillance (Naka) Party in an island (GR 538613) in the Chenab River and 27 packets allegedly containing heroin each weighing 1 Kg, 01 packet allegedly containing 150 gms. opium, 01 shawl, 02 rubber tubes, 1.23 bore revolver and 50 rounds of ammunition were recovered from them. The Surveillance Team apprehend the appellants and took possession of the recovered substances from them. The Army Authorities informed the Customs Authorities at Akhnoor about the incident. On this information, as per the prosecution case, the Customs Authorities constituted a team of Customs staff headed by a Superintendent, Customs. The Customs Authorities took possession of the substances allegedly recovered from the appellants, except the arms and ammunition, in terms of section 110 of the Customs Act, 1962 and arrested the appellants on 03.02.1998. On sample testing, the Customs Authorities found that the 27 packets were containing heroin and 01 packet weighing 150 gms was opium.