RAJNESH OSWAL, PUNEET GUPTA
State of J&K – Appellant
Versus
Mohd. Maqbool Raina – Respondent
JUDGMENT :
1. The present appeal is directed against the judgment of acquittal recorded by the Court of learned 2nd Additional Sessions Judge, Jammu (hereinafter to be referred as the trial court) whereby the respondent has been acquitted of the charges for commission of offence under section 8/20 NDPS Act arising out of FIR No. 3/2009 registered with Police Station, Bahu Fort, Jammu.
2. The judgment has been impugned on the ground that the learned trial court has mis-appreciated the evidence and acquitted the respondent erroneously, as the prosecution had successfully proved the allegations levelled against the respondent by leading cogent evidence.
3. Mr. Amit Gupta, learned AAG appearing on behalf of the appellant vehemently argued that the prosecution had successfully proved the recovery of contraband from the respondent, but despite that the learned trial court acquitted the respondent by wrongly appreciating the evidence.
4. Mr. Jagpaul Singh, learned counsel for the respondent argued that the mandatory provisions of the NDPS Act were not followed by the Investigating Agency, as such, the learned trial court has rightly acquitted the respondent.
5. Heard and perused the record.
6.
In NDPS cases, the prosecution is required to prove the safe custody of the seized contraband and the integrity of the evidence chain, failing which an acquittal is justified.
The principles relating to interference by the High Court in appeals against acquittal are well settled. While High Court can review entire evidence and reach its own conclusions, it will not interfe....
: While hearing acquittal appeal, Court can re-appreciate evidence, however, it should not interfere with order of acquittal if view taken by trial court is a reasonable view of evidence on record an....
The prosecution must establish a clear chain of custody and provide consistent evidence to support charges under the Narcotics Drugs & Psychotropic Substances Act; otherwise, the accused may be acqui....
The prosecution must establish a clear link between seized contraband and samples sent for analysis, including safe custody, to prove guilt beyond reasonable doubt.
Non-compliance with the procedure for drawing up the sample of the narcotic, lack of compliance with the prescribed procedure under the NDPS Act, 1985 at all the stages, and the case being based on t....
In narcotics cases, the prosecution must establish a clear chain of custody and present all relevant witnesses, including the Investigating Officer and FSL expert, to prove the case beyond a reasonab....
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