DURAISWAMY PILLAI Vs. STATE OF MAHARASHTRA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) HEARD the learned Advocate, for the appellant and the learned A. P. P. for the State.

(2.) THE appellant is the original accused who was convicted by the Special Judge for N. D. P. S. Cases, Greater Bombay and was sentenced to suffer R. I. for 10 years and a fine of Rs. 1,00,000/- i. d. S. I. for 6 months for the offence under section 8 (c) read with section 21 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substance Act, 1985 (hereinafter referred to as N. D. P. S. Act ). The accused is in custody since 22-2-1995 i. e. since the date of incident.

(3.) COUNSEL for the accused took us through the entire record and the evidence of the prosecution and strenuously urged that there are number of defects and lacunas in the prosecution case for which the accused is entitled for acquittal. The trial Court has committed grave error in considering the evidence. He firstly contended that the prosecution examined only four witnesses out of which P. W. 2 was the only independent panch witness. P. Ws. 1 and 4 were the members of the raiding party and P. W. 3 was the career who took the samples, to Chemical Analyser. Therefore, according to him, P. W. 2, was only examined as independent witness and accordingly a close scrutiny of evidence shows that either this witness is false or that case of the prosecution is false or suspicious, so far as the important aspect of P. W. 2 being present at the spot is concerned.