Couple found with charas on Delhi-Mumbai Rajdhani Express gets 10-year jail

The court convicted and sentenced the couple despite the panch witnesses being “proven hostile” during cross-examination by the defence. The court upheld the prosecution’s submission that the contraband had been presented before a magistrate for inventory, photography and representative sample and had even “received the mandatory magistrate’s certificate”.

In its order dated April 9, which was made available on Friday, Special NDPS Judge SB Mansuri said that the accused had been “involved in a crime that affects the society at large” and any leniency in the punishment would “defeat the purpose of justice”.

The prosecution case was that the NCB sleuths had entered the A5 coach of the Delhi-Mumbai Rajdhani Express and found the accused persons occupying seat 51 and 52. While checking the bags in the possession of the accused, the NCB found charas, which was confirmed by testing a sample with the help of a drug detection kit. Although the defence picked holes in the cross-examination of the panch witnesses presented by the prosecution and the witnesses were termed “hostile”, the court considered the arguments of the Vadodara District Government Pleader Anil Desai that there had been “no dispute” on the test report of the material, found in the possession of the accused, as being cannabis.

“There has been no contradiction… to the test report proving the substance to be charas… The substance is a contraband as per the NDPS Act. It was found in the possession of the accused and therefore, it is presumed that the accused have committed the crime until there is evidence to prove otherwise,” the court said.

The court stated that the procedure had been followed in seizure of the contraband, as per the provisions of the law. “The seized contraband has been presented before the magistrate and was granted a magistrate certificate after inventory and photography… As per (a precedent) of the Supreme Court of India, any inventory, photographs or samples of seized substances prepared in substantial compliance of the procedure prescribed under Section 52A of the NDPS Act… would have to be mandatorily treated as primary evidence… irrespective of whether the substance in original is actually produced before the court or not.”

The accused had been arrested under NDPS Section 8(c) (providing punishment for possession, and transport of cannabis), 20(c) (punishment for commercial quantity of cannabis) and 29 (criminal conspiracy to commit crime under NDPS Act). Although the defence prayed for a “minimum sentencing”, considering that it was “the first offence” of the accused, the court stated, “It is an undisputed fact that the accused are involved in a crime that affects the entire society and keeping in mind the objective of the NDPS Act, handing out minimum punishment to the accused instead of maximum punishment would defeat the purpose of justice.

The accused have been sentenced to ten years simple imprisonment with a fine of Rs 1 lakh each, failing which, an additional two years sentence of simple imprisonment, the court stated. The period of days served as undertrials will be considered while calculating the pending sentence period, the court said.