The prosecution must establish guilt beyond reasonable doubt, and non-compliance with statutory provisions, inconsistencies in evidence, and lack of witness corroboration can lead to acquittal.

JUDGMENT :

S. K. SAHOO, J.

The appellants faced trial in the Court of learned Addl. Sessions Judge -cum-Special Judge under N.D.P.S. Act, Khurda in T.R. Case No. 45/13 of 2008 for offence punishable under section 20(b)(ii)(C) of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 (hereafter “N.D.P.S. Act”) for illegal possession and transportation of 342 kgs. of ganja on 12.06.2008 at Balugaon on N.H.No.5 at about 6 p.m. to 6.15 p.m. in a TATA Safari Car bearing Registration No. OR-02-N-1368 in contravention of the provisions of the N.D.P.S. Act.

The appellants were found guilty of the said charge and were sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for ten years and to pay a fine of Rs.1,00,000/-(rupees one lakh) each, in default, to undergo rigorous imprisonment for two years.

2. It is the prosecution case that on 12.06.2008 at about 1.00 to 1.30 p.m. while P.W.4 Pradipta Ranjan Pattnayak, Inspector-in-Charge, E.I & E.B., Unit-I, Cuttack was performing patrol duty with other Excise staff at Balugaon Bazar area and checking suspected vehicles indulged in transporting excisable articles, he deputed two of the Excise Constables namely Rudra Charan Mohapatra and Pradeep Kumar Behera to remain present at Railway level crossing situated outside Balugaon Bazar towards Berhampur to inform him over mobile phone about the movement of suspected vehicles. According to the information of those two Excise Constables, P.W.4 checked two to three vehicles but could not find any excisable articles in those vehicles. At about 1.30 p.m., as per information received from the aforesaid Excise Constables, P.W.4 detained one white coloured TATA Safari bearing Registration No.OR-02-N-1368 on suspicion in front of Andhra Bank situated at Balugaon Bazar. P.W.4 directed the driver of the vehicle to open the door but he did not comply. P.W.4 requested two persons from among the crowd gathered namely Surendra Swain (P.W.1) and Tanuj Kumar Panda (P.W.2) to remain present for the purpose of search of the vehicle and both of them accepted the request of P.W.4., who again directed the driver of the vehicle to open the door and this time the driver opened the door and both the appellants were found inside the vehicle. Appellant Prasanta Kumar Behera was the driver of the vehicle and appellant Dinabandhu Moharana was the owner of the vehicle. P.W.4 found the smell of ganja emitting from inside the vehicle. P.W.4 gave his identity to both the appellants and expressed his intention to search the vehicle. He took personal search of both the appellants after giving notices to both of them under section 50 of the N.D.P.S. Act. Both the appellants agreed to be searched by P.W.4., who after observing all the formalities searched the vehicle in presence of P.W.1 and P.W.2 and recovered seventeen gunny bags containing ganja. On weighment, out of the seventeen gunny bags, three gunny bags were found each containing 20 kgs. of ganja, two plastic gunny bags were also found each containing 20 kgs. of ganja, two gunny bags were found each containing 10 kgs. of ganja, two plastic gunny bags and one gunny bag were found each containing 16 kgs. of ganja, five gunny bags and one plastic gunny bag were found each containing 24 kgs. of ganja and one gunny bag was found containing 30 kgs. of ganja. P.W.4 seized the driving license of the appellant-driver and the documents of the vehicles along with the gunny bags containing ganja and prepared seizure list Ext.1/2. P.W.4 prepared a weighment chart vide Ext.6. Both the appellants also signed the seizure list. P.W.4 opened the gunny bags containing ganja and from the texture, smell and from his experience of twenty six years, he found that all the seventeen gunny bags were containing ganja. He sealed all the gunny bags containing ganja separately putting paper slips containing his signatures and that of the appellants and the witnesses. P.W.4 put his personal brass seal containing his specimen signature on each of the paper slips. Th