IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA CRIMINAL APPEAL (DB) No.879 of 2019 Arising Out of PS. Case No.-60 Year-2018 Thana- MUFFASIL District- West Champaran ======================================================

VIJAY MUKHIYA S/o Late Shiv Pujan Mukhiya R/o village- Amawa Majhar, P.S.- Bettiah (Mufasil), District-West Champaran ... ... Appellant/s Versus The State of Bihar ... ... Respondent/s ======================================================

Appearance :

For the Appellant/s : Mr. Dhananjay Kumar, Advocate Mr. Sanjeev Kumar Shrivastava, Advocate For the State : Mr. Sujit Kumar Singh, Advocate ======================================================

CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE BIBEK CHAUDHURI and HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE DR. ANSHUMAN C.A.V. JUDGMENT (Per: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE BIBEK CHAUDHURI)

Date : 15-01-2026 The instant criminal appeal is directed against the judgment of conviction dated 29.05.2019 and order of sentence dated 31.05.2019 passed by the learned District and Sessions Judge, Bettiah, West Champaran in Trial No.18 of 2018 convicting the appellant for committing offence under Sections 20(b)(ii)(c) of the N.D.P.S. Act and sentencing him to suffer rigorous imprisonment for ten years and also to pay fine of Rs.1,00,000/-, in default of payment of fine, further imprisonment for a period of three years.

2. Prosecution case in brief, is that police personnel attached to Bettiah Muffasil Police Station under the leadership of one Ramadhar Ram, Sub-Inspector of Police, Bettiah Muffasil police station conducted raid on 10.02.2018 at about 10:00 P.M. and while in raid S.I. Ramadhar Ram received an information from S.H.O. Bettiah Muffasil police station directing them to return to the police station for conducting special raid at village Amawa Majhar.

3. On being directed as such, the police party under the leadership of S.I. Ramadhar Ram reached village-Amawa Majhar on 11.02.2018 at about 12:30 A.M. at night and on the basis of previous information surrounded the house of Vijay Mukhiya. The police officer called two local persons, namely, Jagdish Mukhiya and Sunil Sahni to be the independent witnesses of search and seizure.

4. The police party alongwith the independent witnesses conducted search of the house of Vijay Mukhiya but no incriminating material was recovered from him. However, from the roof of the house of Vijay Mukhiya police recovered a blue coloured half jacket with 15 packets of some materials kept concealed in the said jacket. On bare examination, the packets were smelling substance like Charas. Police recovered 15 packets of Charas weighing about 6 kg. and 300 grams concealed inside the said jacket lying on the roof of the house of Vijay Mukhiya and seized the said packets of Narcotic substance under a seizure list in presence of the witnesses and the appellant.

5. The appellant was arrested. A written report was submitted by S.I. Ramadhar Ram to the S.H.O. of Bettiah Muffasil Police Station on 11.02.2018 and on the basis of the said written complaint a case under Section 21, 22 and 23 of the N.D.P.S. Act was registered against the appellant. One S.I. Laxman Prasad Singh was directed to take up the investigation of the case. He took up investigation. During investigation, he examined the witnesses, got the seized Narcotic substance examined by the Regional Forensic Science Laboratory, Muzaffarpur and obtained the report that the seized materials were found to contain Charas {(a cannabis plant product whose chip Psychoactive ingredient is Tetra Hydro Cannabinal (THC)}. Accordingly, charge sheet was filed against the appellant on 05.05.2018 under Section 21, 22 and 23 of the N.D.P.S. Act before the learned Sessions Judge, Bettiah. The learned Sessions Judge, Bettiah took cognizance of offence on submission of charge sheet under Section 193 Cr.P.C. vide order dated 10.05.2018.

6. The learned Sessions Judge framed charge against the appellant under Sections 20(b)(ii)(c), 22(c) and 23(c) of the N.D.P.S. Act. As the