NARCOTICS CONTROL BUREAU Vs. HARNATH SINGH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Heard, Perused the record of the learned lower Court.

(2.) Briefly the relevant facts are that in the night intervening 27th and 28th January, 1992, 19.360 kgms. of heroin (brown sugar) was recovered from vehicles No. RNR 8009 and No. GJ 6A 4571; that in those vehicles, accused-respondents Sadiq, Asif, Raghunath Meena, Agdar Shah, Kanhaiyalal Teli and Kanhaiyalal Anjana were travelling. Those ac cused persons did not have any licence to transport or possess the said contraband article and, as such, the officials of the Narcotics Control Bureau regis tered a case, arrested the accused persons and after conducting the investigation, submitted a criminal complaint on 23-4-92 against the respondents No. 1 to 9 for the offences under Sections 21, 23, 25, 27A, 29 and 30, N.D.P.S. Act in the Court of the learned Special Judge, N.D.P.S. Act Cases, Udaipur. It is alleged that accused-petitioner No. 10, Gul Anwar Khan, was absconding and could not he appre hended. Investigation against him was incomplete. Charges were framed under various offences against respondents No. 1 to 9 on 9-6-1992 and the state ments of as many as eleven prosecution witnesses were recorded in that trial. On 25-7-93, accused -respondent No. 10, Gul Anwar was arrested by the Narcotics Control Bureau and after necessary formalities, he was put under detention for a period of one year under the PIT NDPS. However, on 18-7 94, the petitioner-Department filed a criminal com plaint before the learned Special Judge NDPS Act Cases, Udaipur against respondent Gul Anwar, who was also involved in the case, wherein the aforemen tioned contraband was recovered. On 22-10-94, the petitioner-Department filed an application before the learned Special Judge praying that since Gul Anwar is the person, accused of the same offence, committed in the course of the same transaction, the subsequent challan filed against him, which was registered as Special Case No. 150/94, be clubbed/consolidated with the earlier criminal complaint registered as Special Case No. 146/94 and that de novo trial be ordered against all the accused respon dents. This application was vehemently opposed on behalf of respondents Nos. 1 to 9. The learned Special Judge vide his impugned order dt. 22-10-94 rejected the said application. Aggrieved by the said order, the petitioner-Department has filed this peti tion under Section 482, Cr. P.C.

(3.) I have heard Mr. S. S. Das, learned Public Prosecutor appearing for the Narcotics Control Bureau, and Shri R. K. Charan, learned counsel for the accused-respondents at length and carefully perused the record of the learned lower Court.