Point of Law: Section 52-A of the Act, as Disposal of seized narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances.

JUDGMENT :

1. Heard Sri Satish Trivedi Senior Advocate assisted by Sri Ajay Kumar Pandey Advocate, the learned counsel for the applicant and Sri Ashish Pandey Advocate, the learned counsel appearing for the Narcotics Control Bureau.

2. The present application has been filed seeking release of the applicant on bail in Case Crime No. 1 of 2020, under Sections 8(c), 20(C), 28, 29 of Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 (which will hereinafter be referred to as ‘the Act’), Police Station NCB Lucknow.

3. The recovery memo states that at 19:30 hours on 01.01.2020, information was received that a Truck was transporting 500.6 kg. Ganja from Orissa to Moradabad, Uttar Pradesh and a team of officials of NCB and another team of STF started on 01.01.2020 at 21:15 hours from Lucknow and it reached Moradabad at about 04:00 a.m. on 02.01.2020. It is alleged that besides some vehicles passing on the road, no person of the public was seen nearby. It was decided that independent witness be asked from the Police Station -Special Economic Zone and the Station House Officer called two persons namely Riyasat Hussain and Zakir Hussain, who agreed to witness the recovery. The team observed a Truck parked on the road side and at about 08:45 a.m. a Car came and stopped about 100 meters away from the truck. Two suspicious persons got down the car and proceeded towards the truck while two other persons continued sitting in the car. The truck driver also got down and he along with the persons, who had got down the car, started inspecting the truck. The NCB team apprehended all the three persons and it is stated in the recovery memo that the applicant, who was driving the truck, had informed that about 600 kg. Ganja was kept in a secret cavity in the truck, which was being transported from Odisha to be delivered to Mohd. Atikurrahman resident of Gorakhpur and Zafsar Ali resident of Sambhal and the other two persons also made similar statements.

4. Thereafter the truck was taken to the campus of the police post and it was searched there, the applicant opened a secret cavity and took out 296 packets, each of which contained about 2 kg Ganja. The packets were marked and packed in 25 sacks after taking out small quantities from each of the packets. All the samples taken out were mixed together and samples of 25 gm. were drawn from each sack.

5. The applicant filed an application in the Court of Special Judge, N.D.P.S. Act / Additional Session Judge, Court No. 7, Moradabad seeking his release on bail in the aforesaid case on the ground that the applicant had been arrested from the spot and 651.300 kg. Ganja was recovered from the truck which was being driven by the applicant. and that in his statement recorded under Section 67 of the NDPS Act, the applicant had confessed his complicity in the offence.

6. In the affidavit filed in support of the bail application it has been stated that the applicant is innocent and he has been falsely implicated in the present case and that he has no criminal history and he has a permanent residence, so there is no chance of his absconding.

7. The Narcotics Control Bureau has filed a counter affidavit, annexing therewith a copy of the complaint filed by it in the Court of the Session Judge, Moradabad, stating that the truck was being driven by the applicant and it was owned by Jafsar Ali, who had come down from the Car alongwith another co-accused Atiqur Rehman. The two other persons who were sitting in the car were Shiv Chand Sahni and Mubarik Khan. Both the vehicles and all five suspects were taken to the police Station, where the applicant opened the cavity specially made in the truck and 296 packets containing Ganja were recovered from it. All packets were cut opened and a small portion of the substance was taken out from each packet and all the packets were placed in 25 sacks, which were serially marked as P 1 to P 25 and were weighed sack wise. Thereafter all the 25 sacks were divided into three lots and two repre