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IN THE HIGH COURT OF HIMACHAL PRADESH, SHIMLA
Tarlok Singh Chauhan, Sushil Kukreja
State of Himachal Pradesh – Appellant
Versus
Sunita – Respondent
JUDGMENT :
Tarlok Singh Chauhan, J.
Aggrieved by the acquittal of the respondent for the commission of offence punishable under Sections 21 and 22 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 (hereinafter referred to as the ‘NDPS Act’), the State has filed the instant appeal.
2. We really wonder why the State has filed the instant appeal, given the fact that it is the admitted case of theprosecution that instant was a case of prior information, yet the provisions of Section 42 of the Act have not been complied with.
3. This would be further clear from the factual matrix of the case that on 01.02.2014, Rahul Sharma, Investigating Officer along-with HC Govind, Constable Suresh, Lady Constable Kamlesh and Constable Ashok Kumar was present in Nerwa market at about 5.30 p.m. He received a secret information regarding indulgence of the respondent in the sale of ‘Rexcof’ syrup and was stated to be residing in the third floor of the house of one Chajju Ram.
4. It is further case of the prosecution that the I.O. associated two independent witnesses, namely, Ashwani Kumar (PW-1) and Ramesh Zinta (PW-6) and searched the house of the respondent in their presence and recovered seven b
Non-compliance with Section 42 of the NDPS Act vitiates the trial, as established by precedent, and the prosecution failed to provide credible evidence.
Compliance with Sections 42 and 50 of the NDPS Act is mandatory; failure to adhere to these provisions vitiates the legality of the search and seizure, resulting in inadmissibility of evidence.
Strict compliance with mandatory provisions of the NDPS Act, such as Section 42, is essential to protect suspects against false implication and ensure fair investigation and trial.
Strict compliance with the mandatory provisions of Section 42(1) and 42(2) of the NDPS Act is required, and the prosecution must establish the accused's conscious possession of the contraband.
Non-compliance with Section 42 of the NDPS Act undermines the validity of search and seizure, impacting the prosecution's case significantly.
The court emphasized that failure to comply with mandatory procedural requirements, particularly concerning documentation and evidence handling under the NDPS Act, invalidates a conviction.
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