IN THE HIGH COURT OF HIMACHAL PRADESH SHIMLA Cr. Appeal No. 82/1995 Date of decision: 28. 8. 2009 State of H.P. …..Appellant Versus Jasbinder Singh ……Respondent Coram: The Hon’ble Mr. Justice Surjit Singh, J. The Hon’ble Mr. Justice Surinder Singh, J. Whether approved for reporting ?1 . For the Appellant: Mr. Ramesh Sharma, Assistant Advocate General. For the respondent : Mr. N.K. Thakur, Advocate. Surjit Singh (Oral) State has appealed against the judgment dated 28.3.1994 of learned Sessions Judge, Chamba, whereby respondent Jasbinder Singh, who was tried for offence under Section 20 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985, for allegedly possessing 700 grams of charas, has been acquitted. Case of the prosecution may be summed up thus. On 7.5.1992 PW-1 A.S.I. 1 Whether the reporters of Local Papers may be allowed to see the judgment ?. yes - 2 - Ishwar Singh, then posted as Head Constable at Tunnuhatti, had been checking vehicles passing in front of Tunnuhatti Barrier. At 11.20 a.m. an H.R.T.C. bus bearing registration No. HP- 48-0815 appeared from Chamba side. On checking, respondent was found sitting on one of the seats. On seeing police, he became nervous. He was required to de- board the bus. He was having one polythene bag in his right hand. Respondent was handed over to PW-11 Head Constable Karam Singh who informed the respondent that it was intended to search his person and in case he so desired, search could be arranged in presence of a Magistrate or a Gazetted Officer. Respondent expressed desire to be searched on the spot and on search of the bag, held by him in his right hand, 700 grams charas was recovered. Samples were separated from the recovered stuff. Sample and the recovered charas were made into separate parcels and those parcels were sealed with a seal that produced the impression of English letter ‘L’. Written report of the matter was sent to the Police Station. - 3 - Case property was deposited with the S.H.O., who sealed the parcels with his own seal that produced the impression of letter ‘A’ of English alphabet. Sample was sent to the Chemical Examiner who reported that contents of the sample were of charas. Prosecution examined Ishwar Singh A.S.I. who made the respondent to alight the bus, on suspecting that he might be carrying some contraband. He stated that when the respondent was made to alight from the bus, he was not having anything in any of his hands. He was cross- examined by the prosecution with the leave of the court. When confronted with his statement, under Section 161 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, by the learned Public Prosecutor, he stated that respondent was having one bag in his right hand. The witness having initially stated that respondent was not having anything in his hand and his having stated that he had polythene bag only when confronted with relevant portion of his statement under Section 161 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, his statement cannot - 4 - be believed. This witness being the first police official, who allegedly saw the respondent with a polythene bag in the bus having denied that the respondent was holding any polythene bag, much reliance cannot be placed on the testimony of PW-11 Head Constable Karam Singh that respondent had polythene bag with him and charas was recovered from that bag. The above stated position apart, we find from the testimony of PW-7 Dev Raj that he had sent the sample parcel bearing only one seal impression, i.e., of letter ‘L’ of English alphabet, whereas the sample parcel of the present case was supposed to be bearing impressions of two seals reading like letters ‘L and A’ of English alphabet. For the foregoing reasons, we see no merit in the present appeal. The same is, therefore, dismissed. (Surjit Singh), Judge. (Surinder Singh), Judge 28th August,2009. (cm)