Judgment

M.K. MUKHERJEE, J.- The appellant was placed on trial before the Designated Court, New Delhi to answer charges under Section 5 of the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act, 1987 (TADA for short) and Section 25 of the Arms Act, 1959. On conclusion of trial the learned Court recorded an order of conviction against the appellant in respect of both the charges. For the conviction under Section 5 of TADA the appellant was sentenced to suffer rigorous imprisonment for 5 years and to pay a fine of Rs 5000, in default, to suffer rigorous imprisonment for 6 months more but no separate sentence was passed for the other conviction. Hence this appeal.

2. Briefly stated, the prosecution case is that in the evening of 23-4-1991 a police party, while on patrol duty in and around Palam Village, found the appellant standing near the bus stand with a bag in his possession. As his movements aroused suspicion they apprehended him and searched the bag which was found to contain 8 country-made pistols and 31 live cartridges. As the appellant could not give any satisfactory explanation for possession of those arms and ammunition, they were seized under a recovery memo and then packa