Early Times Report
JAMMU, June 3: The High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh has upheld the acquittal of a Ramban resident in a case involving the alleged recovery of 680 grams of heroin, ruling that the prosecution failed to comply with mandatory safeguards prescribed under the NDPS Act.
A Division Bench comprising Justice Sindhu Sharma and Justice Shahzad Azeem dismissed an appeal filed by the State challenging the 2012 acquittal of Mohd. Irfan, who had been booked by Police Station Gangyal under Section 21 of the NDPS Act.
According to the prosecution, Irfan was intercepted during a naka checking operation near City Farm, Greater Kailash, Jammu, on March 8, 2010, and a packet containing 680 grams of heroin was allegedly recovered from his person.
However, the High Court found that the prosecution had failed to establish compliance with Section 50 of the NDPS Act, which mandates that an accused must be informed of his right to be searched before a Gazetted Officer or a Magistrate. The Bench observed that the evidence on record did not show that the accused was ever appraised of this statutory right.
The Court noted that prosecution witnesses had given contradictory statements regarding who conducted the search, the colour of the envelope containing the contraband, the place where the substance was weighed and the type of weighing scale used. Such inconsistencies, the Bench held, struck at the root of the prosecution case.
Referring to settled law laid down by the Supreme Court, the High Court observed that strict compliance with procedural safeguards is essential in NDPS cases and any violation thereof renders the recovery suspect.
The Bench held that the alleged recovery stood vitiated due to non-compliance with mandatory provisions of law and, consequently, the prosecution case could not be sustained. Finding no infirmity in the judgment of the trial court, the High Court dismissed the State's appeal and affirmed the acquittal of the accused. (JNF) |
