JUDGMENT

(PER : HONOURABLE MR.JUSTICE D.N.RAY)

1. The Present appeal is directed by the appellant, challenging the judgment and order of acquittal dated 7th September, 1999 passed by the learned Special Judge, Surat appointed under the NDPS Act, in Special Case (N.D.P.S.) No. 167 of 1994 whereby the learned Special Judge acquitted the accused persons – the opponents herein, for the offences punishable under Section 232(2) of the Criminal Procedure Code and Section 8(c), 20(b)(ii), 22, 23, 29 and 27A of NDPS Act.

2. Facts of the case, in nuce, are as under:-

2.1 The prosecution has instituted proceedings against the accused persons by filing a charge-sheet alleging commission of offences punishable under Sections 20(b)(ii), 22, 23, and 29, inter alia, of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 (herein referred to as “the NDPS Act, 1985”). The case of the prosecution originates from intelligence inputs received by the officers of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), Mumbai, on 15.06.1994, indicating large-scale transportation and illicit trafficking of narcotic substances in and around Surat. Acting upon such information, officers of the DRI, Mumbai in coordina