Lapses in procedural requirements under the NDPS Act, including non-production of records and delays in sample handling, can vitiate trial integrity and result in quashing of conviction.

JUDGMENT :

SHAMIMA JAHAN, J.

By this criminal appeal, this Court is called upon to decide as to whether the conviction and sentence of the appellant under Section 22 (C) of the ND&PS Act, 1985 by the Special Court under the NDPS Act, 1985, Lunglei, Mizoram by Judgment & Order dated 28.08.2023 was as per law or was in violation of the procedural requirements provided under the NDPS Act.

FACTS:

1. The prosecution story as revealed from the First Information Report (FIR) was that on 26.10.2020 at around 11:30 AM, the complainant while on duty received information that a vehicle was carrying some contraband substance. The complainant informed the same to Hnahthial Police Station and on receiving the authorization letter from the Officer-in-Charge of Hnahthial Police Station to take legal action, he and his crew members moved towards a particular petrol pump and while they were around the said place, they saw a car and on suspicion stopped the same. The complainant and his crew members checked the vehicle and found the driver of the vehicle and the appellant sitting inside. They saw the appellant with a rucksack in his hand and asked him to open his bag to which the appellant opened the bag and took out a case of Amul Gold. The complainant got suspicious and by calling a witness opened the said Amul Gold case and on opening they found two black polythene packets inside the same and on opening the said polythene packets, they found two packets wrapped in yellow colour cello tape and inside the same, they found polythene packets wrapped with white paper and on opening the white wrapper, 20 nos. of smaller packets were recovered and on further opening of the same, 200 nos. of black colour wrapper were found. The complainant and his crew members opened the said packets and found plenty of red tablets inside and in presence of the witnesses they calculated and found 39,000 tablets therein and by weighing it they found the total weight as of 4.6 kgs. Suspecting the said tablets as methamphetamine they seized the vehicle alongwith the tablets and took it to the Police Station and submitted a report to the Officer-in-Charge of Hnahthial Police Station. It was further stated in the FIR that the price of the said tablets would come to around Rs. 78,00,000/-. On receipt of the said FIR lodged by the complainant i.e. Sub-Inspector of Hnahthial Police Station, the Police registered the case as HNTL Police Station Case No. 18/2020 and registered it under Section 22 (c) of the ND&PS Act. The Police on completion of the investigation submitted a charge-sheet on 22.01.2021. Thereafter, the Special Court, ND&PS Act, 1985 after complying with all the requirements under the law, framed charge against the appellant and another, i.e. the driver, under Section 22 (c) of the ND&PS Act and on completion of the trial, convicted the appellant under Section 22 (c) of the ND&PS Act and sentenced him to undergo R.I for a period of 10 years with fine and default stipulation. The learned Trial Court, however, for lack of evidence acquitted the other accused person i.e. the driver from the charges levelled against him. Against this Judgment & Order, the present appeal is filed.

EVIDENCE:

2. The prosecution to establish the charge against the appellant had examined 4 witnesses and the defence had examined 3 witnesses.

3. PW-1 was the complainant in the present case and he, apart from the statements made in the FIR, further stated that on receipt of the information that contrabands we