IN THE HIGH COURT OF HIMACHAL PRADESH, SHIMLA Cr. A No. 73 of 2006 Decided on : September 1, 2009 Anand Giri …Appellant. Versus State of H.P. …Respondent. Coram The Hon’ble Mr. Justice Surjit Singh, Judge. The Hon’ble Mr. Justice Surinder Singh, Judge. Whether approved for reporting?1 Yes For the Appellant: Mr. Ravinder Thakur, Advocate For the Respondent: Mr. Ramesh Thakur, Assistant Advocate General. Surjit Singh, Judge( Oral ) Appellant is aggrieved by the judgment dated 16.12.2005 of learned Presiding Officer, Fast Track Court (Additional Sessions Judge), Mandi, whereby he has been convicted of offence, under Section 20 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act and sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for 10 years and to pay a fine of Rs.1,00,000/-; in default of payment of fine to undergo imprisonment for a further period of one year. So, he has filed this appeal. 2. Prosecution case may be summed up thus. On 24.12.2003 PW-8 HC Ram Lal alongwith PW-2 LHC Narpat Ram, PW-8-A Constable Dhan Dev and two other police officials, was present at a place called Khoti-Nala, National Whether reporters of the local papers may be allowed to see the judgment? …2… Highway-21, falling within the area of Police Station, Aut, when around 3.15 PM a bus bearing Registration No. HP-66- 1146 came from Kullu side, which was got stopped and checked. On checking, the appellant was found sitting on seat No.29. He had wrapped, around him, a blanked. On removal of blanket, he was found to be carrying a bag slung on his shoulder in which there was Charas, which weighed 1 Kg. Two samples, each weighing 25 grams, were separated. The samples and the recovered stuff were made into three separate parcels and the parcels were sealed with a seal, which produced impression of letter ‘T’ of English alphabet. Search and seizure memo. was drawn. A written report of search and seizure was prepared and sent to the concerned Police Station for formal registration of the case. Later, in the day, case property was deposited with PW-6 SI Dalip Singh, who was officiating as SHO of Police Station, Aut, on that day. PW-6 SI Dalip Singh affixed his own seal on the three parcels. Seal affixed by him produced impression of letter ‘K’ of English alphabet. One of the two samples was sent to Chemical Examiner by PW-4 MHC Raj Kumar on the next following day through PW-5 constable Sant Ram. Chemical Examiner gave report Ext. PX that the sample contained resin to the extent of 28.79%. 3. Prosecution examined the driver of the bus, namely PW-1 Rup Singh, as an independent witness. He turned hostile. Prosecution also examined the police officials, who conducted the search, namely PW-8 HC Ram Lal and …3… PW-2 LHC Narpat Ram, who testified the aforesaid facts of search and recovery. 4. Trial Court believed the prosecution version and convicted and sentenced the appellant, as aforesaid. 5. We have heard the learned counsel for the appellant as also the learned Assistant Advocate General and gone through the record. 6. It is submitted by the learned counsel for the appellant that report Ext. PX does not stand connected with the sample taken from the stuff, allegedly recovered from the appellant. He has drawn our attention to the statements of PW-6 SI Dalip Singh, PW-5 Constable Sant Ram and PW-4 HC Raj Kumar as also the Road Certificate Ext. PW4/A, to bring his point home. 7. Prosecution case is that the sample and the stuff, recovered from the appellant, had been sealed initially with a seal that produced the impression of letter ‘T’ of English alphabet, by PW-8 HC Ram Lal and that said HC Ram Lal produced the sample parcels and the parcel containing the bulk stuff to PW-6 SI Dalip Singh, who put his own seal, which produced the impression of letter ‘K; of English alphabet on all the three parcels. 8. PW-8 HC Ram Lal testified that he produced the bulk stuff and the samples to PW-6 SI Dalip Singh, who was officiating as SHO and the latter affixed his own seal, which read like letter ‘K’ of English alphabet, on all the three parcels. However, PW-4 HC Raj Kumar stated that he had despatched …4… the sample parcel bearing seal impressions, which read like letter ‘K’ of English alphabet to the Chemical Examiner through PW-5 Constable Sant Ram. PW-5 Sant Ram also stated that he carried a parcel having seal impressions, reading like letter ‘K’ of English alphabet, to the Chemical Examiner, against RC Ext. PW4/B. RC Ext. PW4/B also reads that a parcel bearing six impressions of a seal, which read like letter ‘K’, was sent to Chemical Examiner through PW-5 Constable Sant Ram. 9. From the testimony of PW-4 HC Raj Kumar, PW-5 Constable Sant Ram and the contents of RC Ext. PW4/B it is clear that the sample parcel, which was sent to the Chemical Examiner, was sealed with only one seal, which read like English letter ‘K’. The sample parcel of the case in hand was supposed to bear impressions of two different seals, one reading like letter ‘T’ and another like letter ‘K’ of English alphabet. Therefore, it cannot be said that the sample, which was sent to Chemical Examiner and was analyzed by him, pertained to the case in hand. 10. Also, we find from the report Ext. PX of Chemical Examiner that the sample was drawn and sent to Chemical Examiner on 26.12.2003 (column No. 5 of docket portion marked Ext. PW8/B), but PW-4 HC Raj Kumar and PW-5 Sant Ram say that the sample was despatched on 25.12.2003. Report portion of Ext. PX also reads that the sample was received on 26.12.2003. Testimony of PW-5 Constable Sant Ram is to the effect that he had delivered the sample at the …5… laboratory on 25.12.2003. Thus, from the report also it appears that it may not be in respect of the sample of the stuff allegedly seized from the appellant. 11. For the foregoing reasons, we allow the present appeal, set aside the conviction and sentence of the appellant and acquit him. Appellant being in jail, serving out the sentence awarded by the trial Court, is ordered to be released, forthwith, in case his detention is not required in any other case. Appeal stands disposed of accordingly. (Surjit Singh), J September 1, 2009(ss) (Surinder Singh), J