2015 (11) TMI 695

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....d for detection of the contraband. At that time, a tractor No.RJV 6299 with trolley was heading towards the road from the village and the same was stopped and the appellant was apprehended and he was inquired about the gunny bags of poppy husk lying in the trolley. The appellant was served with a written notice to the effect that as to whether he wanted to be examined before First Class Magistrate or Gazetted Officer in connection with the recovery of poppy husk from his trolley. The appellant had shown faith in Sub Inspector-Chander Singh and as per rules Sub-Inspector searched the trolley. Thirty three yellow coloured gunny bags containing poppy husk were recovered from the trolley attached to tractor and on weighing the bags, each bag was found to be of forty kilograms i.e. in total about thirteen quintals and twenty kilograms of poppy husk was recovered. From each bag, sample of hundred grams was taken out and parcels were made and remaining poppy husk lying in the gunny bags were sealed with seal 'CS' and were seized and taken into police possession alongwith the said tractor with its trolley. On the basis of rukka, case bearing No.234 dated 17.09.1990 under Sections 15, 16, 6....

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....ellant had not offered any satisfactory explanation for the huge quantity of contraband and the High Court rightly reversed the acquittal and the verdict of conviction warrants no interference. 6. We have carefully considered the rival contention advanced by the parties and perused the impugned judgment and material on record. 7. Case of prosecution hinges on the testimony of sole witness Ram Singh-PW-1. Undisputedly, Ram Singh-PW-1 was the member of the Nakabandi party headed by Chander Singh-SI on the night of 16/17.09.1990. Admittedly, Ram Singh signed all the documents and also witness to the recovery memo. Even after searching cross-examination, evidence of Ram Singh-PW-1 remains unshaken. 8. On the midnight of 16/17.09.1990, when the police party was holding Nakabandi on both sides of Kacha path leading to village Kingre from G.T. Road, the tractor was intercepted and the driver of the tractor-appellant was apprehended under suspicion at odd hours of midnight, prosecution cannot be expected to examine independent witnesses. In his cross-examination, PW-1 stated that two persons had come at the place of Nakabandi in the midnight and they were asked to join, but they r....

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....stly applies as much in favour of a Police Official as any other person. No infirmity attaches to the testimony of Police Officials merely because they belong to Police Force. There is no rule of law which lays down that no conviction can be recorded on the testimony of Police Officials even if such evidence is otherwise reliable and trustworthy. The rule of prudence may require more careful scrutiny of their evidence. But, if the Court is convinced that what was stated by a witness has a ring of truth, conviction can be based on such evidence. [25] It is not necessary to refer to various decisions on the point. We may, however, state that before more than half-a-century, in the leading case of Aher Raja Khima v. State of Saurashtra, AIR 1956 SC 217, Venkatarama Ayyar, J. stated: "The presumption that a person acts honestly applies as much in favour of a police officer as of other persons, and it is not judicial approach to distrust and suspect him without good grounds therefor. Such an attitude could do neither credit to the magistracy nor good to the public. It can only run down the prestige of the police administration". (emphasis supplied) [2....

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....ischarge the onus of proof that he was not in conscious possession. Burden of proof cast on the accused under Section 35 of the NDPS Act can be discharged through different modes. One of such modes is that the accused can rely on the materials available in the prosecution case raising doubts about the prosecution case. The accused may also adduce other evidence when he is called upon to enter on his defence. If the circumstances appearing in the prosecution case give reasonable assurance to the Court that the accused could not have had the knowledge of the required intention, the burden cast on him under Section 35 of the NDPS Act would stand discharged even if the accused had not adduced any other evidence of his own when he is called upon to enter on his defence. 13. In Abdul Rashid Ibrahim Mansuri vs. State of Gujarat, AIR 2000 SC 821, this Court has clearly held that where an accused admits that narcotic drugs were recovered from bags that were found in his possession at the time of his apprehension, in terms of Section 35 of NDPS Act the burden of proof is then upon him to prove that he had no knowledge that the bags contained such a substance. This Court then went further ....

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....15. To assail the prosecution case, it was contended that Ram Singh-PW1's testimony cannot be relied upon as PW-1 has stated that he remained busy in the investigation in the present case for 7-8 hours but the fact that Ram Singh has been associated in the investigation of another FIR No.235 dated 17.09.1990 relating to Police Station Sadar Dabwali at 5.30 a.m. in which one Bhoop Singh was arrested while carrying one kilogram and hundred grams opium, which according to the appellant, renders the presence of Ram Singh- ASI in the instant case highly doubtful. The learned Sessions Judge accepted the above submission of the appellant to hold that evidence of Ram Singh-ASI does not inspire confidence. As observed by the High Court, the learned Sessions Judge overlooked that there is no evidence as to the distance between the places of recovery in both the cases. As observed by the High Court, it has come on record that in both the FIRs the place of occurrence has been stated as "in the area of Village Kingre, at a distance of 18 K.M. towards the East, Deh.No.33". It appears from the above entry in the FIR, that the place of occurrence was the same for both the FIRs recorded on that nig....