JUDGMENT :

Heard Mr. B. C. Das, learned counsel for the appellants. Also heard Ms. A. Begum, learned Additional Public Prosecutor for the State respondent.

2. This is an appeal under Section 374 of the Code of Criminal procedure, 1973, against the judgment and order dated 17.12.2012, passed by the learned Special Judge, Jorhat, in Special Case No. 04/2011, convicting the accused/appellants under Section 21(C) of the NDPS Act and sentencing them to suffer R.I. for 10 (ten) years each and also to pay a fine of Rs. 1,00,000/-(Rupees one lakh) only each in default S.I. for 6 (six) months.

3. The brief fact of the prosecution case is that an F.I.R. was lodged by one Shri Roma Kanta Bora, ASI of Police, alleging inter alia that on 04.11.2011, at about 1.30 a.m., while he along with his staff were doing the patrolling duty, they noticed one vehicle, bearing Registration No. AS-03C/2991 (Maruti Car), coming from Mariani side and while the vehicle reached at Khatisona Tini-Ali, he, on suspicion, asked the vehicle to stop and accordingly, the vehicle was stopped. But, while the vehicle was about to stop, one packet was seen to be thrown out from the vehicle and immediately the packet, which was