DR DHANANJAYA Y.CHANDRACHUD, J. - (1.) This appeal arises from a judgment of a Single Judge at the Lucknow Bench of the High Court of Judicature at Allahabad dated 1 October 2020. NCB Case Crime No 14 of 2019 registered at Police Station, NCB, Lucknow for alleged offences under Sections 8, 21, 27A, 29 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act 1985 ["NDPS Act"]. The High Court has allowed an application for bail.
(2.) The complaint was filed on 16 September 2019 through the Intelligence Officer at the Lucknow Zonal Unit of the Narcotics Control Bureau ["NCB"]. The allegation is that the NCB, Zonal Unit received information at 1400 hours that three persons namely Md. Arif Khan, Rafiuddin and Md. Nawaz Khan (the respondent), who are residents of Manipur were proceeding with heroin/morphine in a Maruti Ritz vehicle bearing registration No. UK 06 AA 25823 from Dimapur in Nagaland to Rampur in Uttar Pradesh and that the vehicle would be passing through Banarasi Das College, Lucknow. The information was reduced into writing and was produced before the Zonal Director, NCB Lucknow. A team of NCB officers was formed and it was directed to liaise with the team of the Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force, Lucknow ["UP-STF"]. A surveillance was conducted in the area around Babu Banarasi Das College and at 1600 hours, the car in which the respondent was travelling with the other two co- accused was intercepted. A search was conducted in the presence of a gazetted officer in view of the provisions of Section 50 of the NDPS Act but nothing objectionable was recovered in the course of the personal search. However, a search of the car revealed two polythene packets hidden under the place where the wiper is connected to the front bonnet of the car. The first packet weighed 1.740 kg, while the second packet weighed 1.750 kg. Samples were taken and upon testing with the drug detection kit, the samples tested positive for heroin.
(3.) Since the occupants of the car were not well- versed with Hindi or English, an official belonging to the Shasastra Seema Bal ["SSB"] was summoned at the spot for the purpose of translation as he hailed from Manipur and was conversant with the Manipuri language. The statements of the three accused persons were recorded in English and were translated in Manipuri by the official from the SSB and the accused were placed under arrest. However, while certifying the statement of the respondent, the official of the SSB mentioned the name of Mohd. Arif Khan in place of the respondent (Md. Nawaz Khan).;