2008 (8) TMI 892

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.... bearing registration No. DIG 4615 being driven by Sri Inder Masih was seen coming from Ajnala side, when the truck was stopped. Hardip Singh, the present appellant, was seen sitting by the side of the driver, in the said truck. Meanwhile one Major Singh, who was examined as one of the witnesses in the trial also reached there on a bicycle and upon reaching the place he alighted from the bicycle and joined the police party. Immediately thereafter Inspector Jarnail Singh sent a wireless message to SS Mann, Deputy Superintendent of Police (PW 4), requesting him to reach the place of occurrence, who after receiving the message immediately reached at the place of occurrence. Thereafter consent memos (Ex. PB & PC) were prepared to show compliance of Section 50 of the Act, which were signed/thumb marked by the appellant and attested by the witnesses including PW 4. On the instruction of PW 4, the DSP, Inspector Jarnail Singh conducted search of the appellant Hardip Singh and upon such search one bag in the right hand of Hardip Singh was found and on search of the said bag, it was found to contain opium wrapped in a glazed paper. The aforesaid opium, thereafter was weighed and on such ....

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....also examined under Section 313 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973. 5. On completion of the trial, the learned Addl. Sessions Judge heard the arguments and thereafter passed the judgment and order convicting both the accused persons including the present appellant under Section 18 of the Act and sentenced them to undergo rigorous imprisonment for a period of ten years with rupees one lakh as fine and in default of payment of fine to undergo rigorous imprisonment for a period of two years, which is the minimum sentence provided under the Act. 6. Being aggrieved by the aforesaid judgment and order of conviction and sentence, Hardip Singh, the present appellant and the other accused, Inder Masih filed an appeal before the High Court of Punjab and Haryana, which was heard and disposed by Judgment and Order dated 18.10.2006. The order of conviction and sentence passed against the present appellant was maintained and confirmed whereas the order of conviction against Inder Masih was set aside and he was acquitted of the charges. Being aggrieved by the said judgment and order the present appeal is filed by Hardip Singh on which we have heard the learned counsel for the parties w....

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....ere fact that Jarnail Singh had allegedly recovered the said opium and also the fact that he was the investigating officer of the case prima-facie proves that the appellant has been falsely implicated in the present criminal case on account of personal grudge against the appellant. 10. We have carefully perused the record in view of the aforesaid allegations, alleging that the investigating officer was nourishing a grudge against the appellant over the vehicular accident which occurred on 26.7.1997. A perusal of the document of apology, exhibited as Ex. DB., shows that it carries the signatures of various persons including Gurdial Singh (DW 3) and Harjap Singh (DW 5) but the signature of Jarnail Singh (PW 5), the investigating officer of the case was not appearing in the said document. PW 5 was also examined and cross examined at length but not a single question was put to him about the execution of the aforesaid document of apology. No suggestion was given to him that the said document was executed in his presence and that he was also a consenting party to the said document of apology. Therefore, the learned trial court as also the High Court were justified in raising doubt abo....

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....mritsar on 30.9.1997 through ASI Surinder Singh, (PW-3). It has also come on evidence that till the date the parcels of sample were received by the Chemical Examiner, the seal put on the said parcels was intact. That itself proves and establishes that there was no tampering with the aforesaid seal in the sample at any stage and the sample received by the analyst for chemical examination contained the same opium which was recovered from the possession of the appellant. In that view of the matter, delay of about 40 days in sending the samples did not and could not have caused any prejudice to the appellant. The aforesaid contention, therefore, also stands rejected. 13. The contention of Mr. Singh that Section 55 of the Act, which is a mandatory provision, was violated is also found to be without merit in the light of the decision of this Court in Karnail Singh v. State of Rajasthan [(2000) 7 SCC 632] relied by him in order to buttress his argument, wherein, a similar contention was raised that after the seizure the goods were sent to the Superintendent, Central Narcotics Bureau, Kota, who, as per law, was in charge of a police station but had not affixed his seal on the articles a....