10 years RI for possessing charas

CHANDIGARH, SEPT 14: In a significant judgment here, a city court held one Darshan Singh guilty under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic...

CHANDIGARH, SEPT 14: In a significant judgment here, a city court held one Darshan Singh guilty under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act and sentenced him to 10 years rigorous imprisonment. The accused, who is a three-wheeler driver and was caught in the city while trying to sell charas, was further directed by the court to pay a fine of Rs one lakh. The accused would further be required to undergo further RI for a period of one year in case of default of payment of fine.

Pronouncing the order here on September 10, UT Additional District and Sessions Judge G.S. Sandhu observed that the prosecution had been successful in bringing home guilt of the accused and hence he stands convicted under Section 20 of the NDPS Act.

The prosecution maintained that on December 2, 1996 inspector KIP Singh got a wireless message informing him that one darshan SIngh who is into the sale of drugs would be in the city in connection with his business. He would get down near Laxmi Narain Mandir. A naka was subsequently laid and the accused was caught.

He expressed a desire to being searched in front of a gazetted officer. Later, DSP Surjit Singh personally conducted the search and a grey-coloured bag was found in the possession of the accused.

On further search, charas was recovered and when weighed it came out to Rs 870 gm.

One convicted for rash driving
UT Judicial Magistrate Ist Class A.K. Bishnoi today convicted a city resident for causing injuries to a person by driving rashly and negligently.The accused, Suresh Kumar, was booked under Section 279 and 338 IPC here on September 16, 1996.

The charge against him was that on the day of occurrence, he was driving a Matador in a rash and negligent manner and in the process hit into the scooter of a PSEB employee who was injured and had to be shifted to the hospital immediately.

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Holding the accused guilty of driving in a negligent manner, the Magistrate convicted him under both the sections.

While under Section 279 IPC, he was sentenced to undergo simple imprisonment for a period of three months, under Section 338 of the IPC, he was sentenced to undergo a simple imprisonment for a period of six months, apart from paying a fine of Rs 500. In case of default of payment of fine, the accused was further directed to undergo imprisonment for a month.

Two rape accused acquitted
Two Dhanas residents earlier booked for raping a girl were acquitted by the court after the prosecution failed to bring any concrete evidence.

Gurinder Singh and Rakesh Kumar were booked here on May 17, 1997 under Sections 376 2 g of the IPC. The registration of the FIR was based on the statement of the victim who stated that on April 24, 1997, she came to Chandigarh after fighting with her parents. She stated that after she had a quarrel with her mother, her father beat her up. She thus left the home in anger and came to Chandigarh to spend some time with her friend.

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On reaching the city, she began inquiring about Sector 29 where her friend stayed. She added that when she was some distance away from the bus stand, a Maruti car stopped by her side. The two accused were seated in the car and they also offered her a lift.

The girl added that they took several rounds of the city and also offered beer to her which she drank. Later when the dark fell they took her to a guest house where they allegedly raped her. The girl stated that on the next morning she came to know that she was in a house in sector 10.During the course of trials the prosecution examined as many as 17 witnesses. The defence counsel, however, submitted that the identity of the accused was in doubt and that the girl had not identified them. On the grounds that the guilt was not proved, the judge acquitted both the accused.