STATE, BY PUBLIC PROSECUTOR Vs. C. VIJAYAN,

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The Appeals are filed against the acquittal of the accused Nos.1, 2, 3, 5, 12, 14, 15, 16, 17 to 19 and the Revision Petitions are filed against the conviction of the accused Nos.3,4,7,8,9,10 and 13.

(2.) The brief facts are as follows: In and about the year 1981, A.1 was working as a Dispensing Chemist in Chennai Corporation; A.2 is his wife; A.3 is the brother of A.2; A.5 was the owner of a medical shop at Guntur, Andhra Pradesh; A.7 was a postal employee in Chennai; A.6 is the wife of A.7. A.8 was working as a pharmacist in Government Royapettah Hospital; A.11 was the owner of medical shop at Nellore, Andhra Pradesh; A.12 to A.15 were working as pharmacist in E.S.I. Hospital, Tiruvottiyur; A.16 and A.17 were working as male nurses and A.18 was working as a pharmacist in Government Royapettah Hospital, Chennai.

(3.) Pursuant to criminal conspiracy between the accused -A.1, A.4 and A.8, A.12 to A.15, A.17, A.18 (who were employed as pharmacists, male nurses in Chennai corporation and Government Stanley Hospital, Government Royapettah Hospital and E.S.I. Hospital, Tiruvottiyur) during the period 1980 -81, clandestinely removed the medicines supplied by the Government of Tamil Nadu to the hospitals, run by governmental agencies, for the purpose of supplying to the patients freely, and sold them to medical shops of A.5 and A.11 at Guntur and Nellore, and in turn, they received by way of exchange the Dangerous Drugs, Pethidine and Morphine, supplied to those medical shops. The drugs were brought to Chennai by A.19 and they were sold to public through A.2, A.3, A.6, A.7, A.9 and A.10. Thus, A.1 to A.19 were parties to the criminal conspiracy. The accused were charged for the offences punishable under various provisions of I.P.C. and also under the Dangerous Drugs Act, 1930.