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1994 Supreme(Bom) 606

IN THE HIGH COURT OF BOMBAY
V.H. Bhairavia P.S. Patankar, JJ.
Daniel Odemenam .... Appellant.
Versus
R. Ramesh, Intelligence Officer N.C.B., Bombay and another .... Respondents.
Criminal Appeal No. 378 of 1993, decided on 24-10-1994.
Advocates appeared :
H.H. Keshwani and H.K. Prem, for the appellants.
R.M. Agrawal,, for the respondent No. 1.
D.A. Nalawade, A.P.P., for State.

Headnote:Section 165.

       See Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985-Sections 8 (c), 21 and 50.

       Sections 8 (C), 21 & 50-Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 Section 165-Contraband brown powder.

       Intelligence officer made seizure of-Launching of prosecution without giving accused option of search before gazetted officer or Magistrate. Trial vitiates for non-compliance with Section 50. Section 50 covers search of accuseds person and his baggage.

JUDGMENT - V.H. BHAIRAVIA, J. :---This appeal is against the judgment and order dated 27-4-1993 passed by the learned Addl. Sessions Judge, Greater Bombay in N.D.P.S. Case No. 832 of 1988 and thereby the appellant has been convicted for an offence punishable under section 8(c) read with section 21 of the N.D.P.S. Act and sentenced to suffer R.I. for 10 years and to pay a fine of Rs. 1 lakh, in default R.I. for 9 months. Further, he has been convicted under section 8(c) of the N.D.P.S. Act punishable under section 28 r/w. section 23 of the N.D.P.S. Act and sentenced to suffer R.I. for 10 years and to pay fine of Rs. 1 lakh, in default R.I. for 9 months. Further, he has been convicted under section 135(1)(a) r/w section 135(I)(II) of the Customs Act, 1962 and sentenced to suffer R.I. for 1 year and to pay fine of Rs. 3,000/-, in default R.I. for one month. All the substantive sentences of imprisonment to run concurrently.

2. The prosecution case in brief is that, Mr. R. Ramesh, Intelligence Officer, Narcotic Control Bureau, Bombay received a secret information on 23-5-1988 at about 7 p.m. that one Nigerian national by name Daniel Odemenam was to fly by air-ticket for Ethiopian Airlines Flight No. Et-611 departure at 4.15 hrs. and was to travel from Bombay to Lagos from Sahar International Airport. It was further informed that the said Daniel Odemenam was likely to carry about 2 kgs. heroin in his personal baggage. The said information was reduced into writing by P.W. 1 Mr. R. Ramesh. Thereafter, the written information was submitted to his immediate superior officer Shri R.N. Kakkar. Accordingly, on 24-5-1988, a trap was arranged at about 2.30 hrs. by P.W. 1 R. Ramesh, Shri A.S. Menon, Shri R.V. Pardeshi and other Intelligence Officers alongwith the constables. They all went to departure module II. P.W. 1 R. Ramesh collected the passengers manifest of Ethiopian Airlines No. ET/611/ETD from the office of Airlines and on persual of the manifest of the passengers, he found the name of Daniel Odemenam (i.e. the appellant) at Serial No. 30 in the list. Hence, they incircle the Serial No. 30 of the manifest of the passengers. Two persons who were working on the said Airport were called as panchas. It reveals that at about 3.15 hrs. one Nigerian national submitted his passport on the Customs counter and at that time P.W. 1 R. Ramesh told the panch witnesses that he is the same person about whom they had received an information and are in search of him. While appellant was submitting his passport on the counter, P.W. 1 R. Ramesh noticed the photograph and confirmed that he is the same person about whom a secret information was received. It also reveals that P.W. 1 R. Ramesh took out passport from the custody of the appellant-accused and demanded the remaining travelling documents from the accused. On demand, the appellant produced air-ticket, jacket, boarding card, baggages claim tag which was affixed to the air-ticket jacket. The foreign travel token was also affixed to the air-ticket. The air-ticket was for the sector from Bombay to Lagos. P.W. 1 R. Ramesh enquired about the baggage of the appellant. The appellant was carrying blackish colour hand bag in his hand. It also reveals that P.W. 1 checked the baggages belonged to the appellant but nothing incriminating was found from the baggage. It reveals that P.W. 1 R. Ramesh asked the appellant to open the hand bag which was in the hand of the appellant. The appellant opened the hand bag and it was found empty. However, the weight of the hand bag was found abnormal. Hence, the hand bag was minutely checked. He found two polythene bags covered with cellophane tapes on both sides of the inner lining side of the bag. So, he removed both the polythene bags from the hand bag which were stuck to the inner side of the bag. The two polythene bags were filled with brown colour powder. P.W. 1 R. Ramesh opened both the polythene bags and withdrew some small quantity of the powder from the polythen












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