https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=294222 In NDPS prosecutions, the reverse burden operates only after the prosecution establishes the foundational facts, including a reliable chain of custody for the seized sample. Where the sample produced in court could not be confidently linked to the contraband allegedly recovered, because of gaps in the Malkhana record, illegible seal signatures, unexplained delay in production, hostile independent witnesses, and other custody defects, the prosecution case was rendered doubtful. Even though the FSL report confirmed opium and Section 50 compliance was shown, the identity of the sample remained unproved beyond reasonable doubt. The conviction was therefore set aside and the accused received the benefit of doubt. en-us Tue, 20 Aug 2019 00:00:00 +0530 Sat, 27 Mar 2021 07:39:47 +0530 TaxTMI RSS Generator https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=294222 In NDPS prosecutions, the reverse burden operates only after the prosecution establishes the foundational facts, including a reliable chain of custody for the seized sample. Where the sample produced in court could not be confidently linked to the contraband allegedly recovered, because of gaps in the Malkhana record, illegible seal signatures, unexplained delay in production, hostile independent witnesses, and other custody defects, the prosecution case was rendered doubtful. Even though the FSL report confirmed opium and Section 50 compliance was shown, the identity of the sample remained unproved beyond reasonable doubt. The conviction was therefore set aside and the accused received the benefit of doubt. Case-Laws Indian Laws Tue, 20 Aug 2019 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=294222