Compliance with mandatory provisions of the NDPS Act is essential for conviction; however, the absence of independent witnesses does not automatically discredit credible police testimony.

JUDGMENT

Mohd. Faiz Alam Khan, J.

The above criminal appeals are connected with each other and for the sake of convenience and in order to avoid multiplicity and repetition of the consideration of arguments, appreciation of evidence and recording of reasoning, are being disposed of by this common order.

2. Heard Shri. Pal Singh Yadav, learned counsel for the appellant - Baijnath Prasad Sah Kanoo in Criminal Appeal No.3162 of 2023, Shri. Shakti Kumar Verma, learned counsel for the appellant - Chandrashekhar Prasad Sah in Criminal Appeal No.2986 of 2023, Shri. Apoorva Jyoti, learned counsel for the appellant - Pankaj Kumar in Criminal Appeal No.529 of 2024 as well as Shri. Digvijay Nath Dubey, learned counsel appearing for the D.R.I. and perused the record.

3. Above mentioned criminal appeals have been preferred by the appellants namely Baijnath Prasad Sah Kanoo, Chandashekhar Prasad Sah and Pankaj Kumar against the judgment and order dated 25.08.2023 passed by the Additional District and Sessions Judge, Court No.11/Special Judge, N.D.P.S. Act, Lucknow in Criminal Case No.568 of 2017 (Union of India v. Chandrashekhar Prasad Sah and 3 Others) arising out of D.R.I. Criminal Case No.01 of 2017, under Section 8(c)/20(b)(ii)(c)/25 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 (hereinafter referred to as N.D.P.S. Act), Police Station D.R.I. Lucknow, District Lucknow, whereby the appellants were convicted for the offence under Section 8(c)/20(b)(ii)(c)/25 of the N.D.P.S. Act and were sentenced to undergo for ten years rigorous imprisonment along with fine of Rs. 1,00,000/- each with default clause.

4. Brief facts necessary for disposal of the above appeals are to the tune that on 06.02.2017, a discrete information information was received by the D.R.I. Unit Lucknow from its unit at Patna in terms that a Santro car bearing registration No.PB23J4874 had gone to Kathmandu, Nepal through Raksaul for the purpose of loading illegal 'charas' on 03.02.2017 at about 05:00pm. and after loading the same this vehicle is returning to Haryana via Gorakhpur- Lucknow,Highway. On this information, Deputy Director, Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (D.R.I.), Lucknow has called Intelligence Officer Shri. Abhinav Awasthi in his chamber on 06.02.2017 at 05:45pm., where Intelligence Officers Shri. Ritesh Narsinghani, Shri. Sanjeet Singh were already present and thereafter a team was constituted comprising of Intelligence Officers Shri. Abhinav Awasthi, Shri. Ritesh Narsinghani, Shri. Sanjeet Singh and Head Hawaldar, Shri. Triveni Prasad Yadav. The Deputy Director has authorised the team to apprehend the contraband along with wrong doers and thereafter the team had boarded in a private 'Innova' taxi and departed from the D.R.I., Directorate, situated at Vishal Khand, Faizabad Road, Lucknow and on their way, they also took two independent witnesses namely Ram Khelawan, R/o Lane No.2, Village Kamlapur, Chinhat, Lucknow and Suresh Kumar R/o Khargapur, Lucknow and the Intelligence Officer Shri. Abhinav Awasthi apprised them about the facts and requested them to accompany the team as independent witnesses on which they they consented and accompanied team.

5. It is further the case of the prosecution that the whole team along with two independent witnesses had moved towards Lucknow - Faizabad highway and as no specific time was known of the arrival of the vehicle, they parked their vehicle at Lucknow - Faizabad road near Babu Banarasi Das University and at about 04:30am. in the morning one Santro car was visible bearing registration No.PB23J4874 and they started chasing the vehicle and after overtaking the same, the vehicle was stopped and it was found that four persons were boarding the vehicle. The team members have shown their identity cards on which the person sitting on the driver seat of the Santro car told his name Krishna Kumar R/o Tumariya Tola, Ward no.3 Raksaul, Police Station Raksaul, District East Champaran, Bihar and the person sitting