Criminal Appeal No. 61-DBA of 2000 -1- **** IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH Criminal Appeal No. 61-DBA of 2000 Date of decision: 14 .7.2008. State of Punjab .....Appellant Versus Gajjan Singh ...Respondent **** CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE ADARSH KUMAR GOEL HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE S. D. ANAND **** Present: Mr. D.S. Brar, Deputy Advocate General, Punjab Mr. S.M. Tripathi, Advocate for respondent. Ms. Raina Sasharwal, Advocate for Mr. A.P.S. Shergill, Advocate as Amicus Curiae. **** S. D. ANAND, J. The respondent-accused was exonerated by the learned Trial Judge of the charge of having been found in possession of 6 Kgs. of opium. He was apprehended by the police on 8.7.1989 in the area of village Sandli. The learned Trial Judge recorded the impugned verdict of acquittal on the premise that the only independent witness ( Sukhdev Singh) had not been examined at the trial, the grounds of arrest had not been indicated to the respondent/accused and the Investigating Officer DSP Harbhajan Singh PW-2 had not even prepared an inventory of contraband allegedly recovered from the possession of the respondent/accused. In that very context, learned trial Judge noticed the variations in the inter-se Criminal Appeal No. 61-DBA of 2000 -2- **** statements of PW-1 HC Joginder Pal and PW-2 DSP Harbhajan Singh on point of availability of weighing scale and weights. While the former told the Court that scale and the weights were already available in the investigating bag; the latter indicated that the weighing scale and the weights were brought by a Constable from village Fatta Maluka. We have examined the finding, and also the reasoning recorded in support thereof on the touch stone of the parameters laid down by the Apex Court in Ramesh Babulal Vs. State of Gurarat, AIR 1996 SC 2035, Jaswant Singh Vs. State of Haryana AIR 2000 SC 1833 and Main Pal Vs. State of Haryana AIR 2004 SC 2158 for adjudication of a such like controversy. We find that the reasoning adopted by the learned Trial Judge cannot be faulted on any valid score. Dismissed. ( S. D. ANAND ) JUDGE July 14, 2008 (ADARSH KUMAR GOEL) Pka JUDGE