LADU SINGH Vs. STATE OF RAJASTHAN

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner has been convicted under Sec. 4/9 of the Opium Act, 1878 (for short, the Opium Act) and has been sentenced to undergo three months' rigorous imprisonment and a fine of Rs. 100.00, or in default of payment of fine to further undergo 15 days' rigorous imprisonment. The appellate court had sentenced the accused-petitioner as aforesaid while affirming his conviction under section 4/9 of the Opium Act recorded by the learned trial court under its judgment dated March 21, 1987. The trial court had sentenced the accused-petitioner to undergo one year's RI and a fire of Rs I,000.00, or in default of payment of fine to further undergo two months' simple imprisonment.

(2.) The facts are contained in the two judgments of the courts below and suffice it to say that as per the case of the prosecution it was on March 21, 1982 that when the two ASIs, namely Sarva Shri Tej Singh PW 1 and Udai Narain Singh PW 3 of Police Station Kotwali Bundi took a search of the. accused petitioner who was sitting in a bus No. RRG-7103, it was found that there was a bag with the accused petitioner and the bag contained 550 gms milk of opium There was also a notice of motor accident claim and also a pass for the petitioner to travel by bus. The petitioner was a driver of the RSPTC. A sample was taken and it was sent for analysis and on examination it was found by the Asstt. Director of the State Forensic Science Laboratory Jaipur under his report dated Dec. 14. 1982 that the substance was opium. A charge-sheet was filed against the accused-petitioners. He was tried and was convicted and sentenced as aforesaid.

(3.) The defence of the accused-petitioner under Sec. 313 Code Criminal Procedure was that no opium was recovered from him and it was recovered from Pritam Singh, the driver of the bus and he (accused-petitioner) was wrongly held-up in case.