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Journalism of Courage
In two separate orders, two men booked for possession of marijuana were acquitted by a special court recently as the probe was conducted by an official below the rank authorised to investigate.
Deepak Sonawane was arrested by the Anti-Narcotics Cell, Worli unit for alleged possession of 2.8 kg of ganja in 2015. Babu Sayyed was arrested by the same unit for possession of 250 grams of ganja in 2013. In both cases, the men were booked under relevant sections of the anti-drug law, Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act.
In Sayyed’s case, he had submitted the probe was conducted by a head constable. A notification from the home department of the state government said only police officers above the rank of sub-inspectors are authorised to head the probe. The lawyers for Sayyed submitted that the trial was therefore vitiated.
In Sonawane’s case, the probe was similarly conducted by an assistant sub-inspector. The court said that as per the notification dated 1990, head constables and assistant sub-inspectors are not authorised to conduct the probe.
The court also considered that the accused were also not explained their rights properly as is required under the NDPS Act. In Sayyed’s case, the court also said that panch or independent witnesses were not traced and there was no proof other than testimonies of the police to show that the drugs were seized from the accused.
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