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RITU BAHRI, RAKESH THAPLIYAL
State of Uttarakhand – Appellant
Versus
Chandra Ram – Respondent
JUDGMENT :
RITU BAHRI, C.J.
1. The State has come up in appeal against the judgment passed by the Court of Special Sessions Judge (NDPS), Pithoragarh in Special Session Trial No. 01/2022 dated 05.10.2023, whereby the respondent-Chandra Ram, who was facing the trial for the offence punishable under Section 8/20 of the Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985, has been acquitted.
2. The case of the prosecution is that an FIR was registered against Chandra Ram, after recovery, on 17.10.2021. On this day, S.O.-Dinesh Ballabh, along with driver Manoj Kumar had left the Police Station Haja for Chowki Madkot area, and was busy in prevention of crime. During patrolling, he called Constable 353 Sanjay Singh Chauhan from the concerned police station and Constable 06 Rajendra Singh from chowki Madkot. Both the employees met him at Mandakini Bridge, Madkot. He, along with both these police personnel, were patrolling in the government vehicle and checking the vehicles for the suspicious person. While they were going from Madkot towards Seraghat, then about 3-4 km ahead, on Seraghat Road, near a poultry farm, a pickup vehicle was seen coming from Seraghat side. With the intention of ch
Stringent punishment has been provided for offences punishable under NDPS Act.
The court affirmed that possession of 201 kilograms of ganja established under the NDPS Act sufficed for conviction, confirming that procedural safeguards were adhered to despite the absence of indep....
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.
Section 50 of NDPS Act are reproduced as Conditions under which search of persons shall be conducted.
The absence of independent witnesses does not invalidate the prosecution's case if police testimonies are credible, and Section 50 of the NDPS Act is not applicable when recovery is from a bag.
The prosecution established the appellant's conscious possession of narcotics, validating the conviction despite procedural non-compliance, as substantial evidence supported the case.
Total non-compliance with NDPS procedural safeguards undermines convictions, particularly in absence of corroborative evidence from independent witnesses.
The court upheld the trial court's acquittal of the accused due to significant procedural violations and lack of evidence connecting them to the alleged drug possession.
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