IMPORTANT POINT
Acquittal from drug charges leads to mandatory release of seized properties under Section 68Z(2) of the NDPS Act.

JUDGMENT :

MANISH CHOUDHURY, J.

Invoking the extra-ordinary jurisdiction under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, the present writ petition is preferred to assail inter alia a direction made by the Intelligence Officer, Narcotics Control Bureau [NCB] & Investigating Officer [I.O] of the case, NCB Crime Case no. 06 of 2018, whereby, the I.O. had directed freezing of one Savings Bank Account no. 125210034195 maintained by the petitioner at Beltola Branch, Guwahati of the Dena Bank. The petitioner has also challenged the actions on the part of the respondent NCB authorities in seizing and blacklisting of four nos. of vehicles belonging to the petitioner, bearing registration nos. [i] AS-01/FC-6769 [Three wheeler goods carriage]; [ii] AS-01/BH-0255 [LMV]; [iii] AS-01/JC-4657 [Bus MPV]; and [iv] [AS-01/JC-2577 [Bus MPV].

2. The events which have led to the issuance of the aforesaid direction to freeze the bank account of the petitioner and resulted in seizure and blacklisting of the afore-mentioned vehicles, belonging to the petitioner, can be narrated at first, in brief.

3. On receipt of an information from a reliable source at the Zonal Office, Guwahati of the NCB that a person named Ranjan Sarkar along with two other persons would be carrying a huge quantity of contraband, Ganja by concealing the same in the roof-top carrier above the cabin of a truck bearing registration no. TR-01/B-1777 on 08.05.2018, the information was reduced into writing by the concerned officer in the NCB. On being informed to the immediate superior, the Superintendent of NCB, Guwahati Zonal Unit, a team was formed to be led by the Superintendent of NCB, Guwahati Zonal Unit to intercept the truck. An Officer of the NCB was authorized to search, seize and arrest in case of any recovery made on the basis of the information and interception. The team of the NCB, Guwahati Zonal Unit then proceeded to Gorchuk Chariali at around 09.40 a.m. on 08.05.2018.

4. Finding the truck bearing Registration no. TR-01/B-1777 proceeding towards Jalukbari, the NCB team intercepted the truck at a place on the National Highway, around 500 metres from Gorchuk Chariali. The intercepted truck was searched in presence of independent witnesses by the personnel from the NCB team after giving their introduction. In the truck, three persons, namely, [i] Ranjan Sarkar; [ii] Madhu Dey; and [iii] Akash Majumdar; were found as occupants. On search of the roof-top carrier above the cabin of the truck, three gunny bags/sacks containing suspected Cannabis [Ganja] were recovered. A small quantity of the dried flowering tops were thereafter, taken out from each of the three sacks and tested separately with the help of the Drug Detection Kit carried by the NCB team and on being tested, they gave positive results for Cannabis [Ganja]. On weighment, the total weight of the three bags, after marking them as P1, P2 & P3, was found to be 45.050 Kg [P1 = 18.650 Kg + P2 = 17.250 Kg + P3 = 09.150 Kg]. Further search did not result in further recovery of any contraband. Apart from the three sacks containing Cannabis [Ganja], the documents pertaining to the truck bearing no. TR-01/B- 1777 and other articles found in the possession of the three occupants were seized by the NCB team by preparing a Search-cum-Seizure List and a Panchanama at the spot. The statements of the three occupants - accused persons were recorded under Section 67 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 [‘the NDPS Act’, for short].

5. It was on the basis of the statements of the three accused persons, already apprehended, the NCB team looked out for the petitioner viz. Dhan Boro on the purported ground that the seized consignment of Cannabis [Ganja] were meant for delivery to the petitioner at his Dhaba at Beltola, Guwahati in the evening hours of 08.05.2018. Accordingly, the petitioner was apprehended and arrested on 08.05.2018 itself and a nos. of articles were s