JUDGMENT

Jitendra Chauhan, J.— By this common judgment, three appeals noticed above are being disposed of, having arisen out of the common judgment of conviction and order of sentence dated 18.11.1998, passed by the learned Additional Sessions Judge, Kaithal, thereby, convicting the appellants for commission of offence punishable under Section 15 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act (for short, ‘the NDPS Act’), in case FIR No. 195 dated 24.9.1996, registered at Police Station Rajond, and sentencing them to undergo rigorous imprisonment for a period of 10 years and to pay a fine of Rs.1,00,000, and in default of payment of fine, to further undergo rigorous imprisonment for a period of 2 years.

2. The brief facts of the present case as narrated in para 2 of the impugned judgment, are reproduced as under:

“2. That on 24.9.1996, afternoon, when PW Ashok Kumar Sub Inspector/Station House Officer, Police Station Rajond alongwith Head Constable Kehar Singh, UGC Mohinder Singh and Constable Suresh Kumar, was present in the area of village Birthe-Bahri in connection with detection of crime and patrolling and he was proceeding towards village Thal, in the Govt. Jeep, then h