A special NDPS court in Chandigarh has convicted a Mohali resident for possessing 750 grams of charas, holding that the prosecution had proved the recovery beyond reasonable doubt and rejecting the defence’s claim that the contraband was planted after police picked up a backpack from his house.
Event Context
The court, however, declined to rely on the electronic evidence, observing that the original CCTV footage had not been produced, the neighbour in whose premises the CCTV system was installed was not examined, and the videos did not clearly show the faces of the persons or the registration number of the vehicle. The court further noted that the videos did not display any date, month or year and that no complaint regarding the alleged illegal action of the police had been made before any authority.
While deciding the sentence, the court took into account that the convict was a first time offender, had aged parents, a wife and two children dependent on him, and that the quantity recovered was an intermediate quantity and not a commercial quantity before awarding 18 months rigorous imprisonment.
Team Analysis
Special court judge Raman Goklaney convicted Kuldeep Singh, a resident of Gobind Nagar, Naya Gaon, Mohali, under Section 20 of the NDPS Act (punishment for offences relating to cannabis) and sentenced him to 18 months rigorous imprisonment along with a fine of ₹20,000. In default of payment of the fine, he will undergo two months of simple imprisonment. The period already spent in custody during the investigation and trial has been ordered to be set off against the sentence.
The defence argued that the accused had been falsely implicated and that the recovery had been planted. Kuldeep Singh’s father deposed that police officials had visited their residence on the evening of February 8, 2021, taken away a brown backpack and later falsely shown its recovery from his son. He also produced a pen drive containing videos purportedly recorded from a neighbour’s CCTV footage in support of his claim.
The defence also challenged the prosecution case on the ground that no independent public witness had joined the recovery proceedings despite the alleged place of recovery being a busy area. Rejecting the contention, the court observed that while associating independent witnesses is desirable, their non-joining is not fatal if the testimonies of official witnesses inspire confidence and there is no material to suggest any motive for false implication.
The court further rejected the defence argument regarding non-compliance with Section 50 of the NDPS Act, holding that the provision applies only to the personal search of an accused and not to the search of a bag or backpack. Since the recovery in the present case was effected from a backpack carried by the accused, the requirement under Section 50 was held to be inapplicable.
Holding that the prosecution had successfully proved conscious possession of 750 grams of charas and maintained an unbroken chain of custody of the seized contraband, the court convicted Kuldeep Singh under Section 20 of the NDPS Act.
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According to the prosecution, on the night of February 8, 2021, a crime branch police team on foot patrol near the cremation ground in Sector 25 noticed Kuldeep Singh riding a motorcycle. On seeing the police, he allegedly became nervous and attempted to turn back. Suspecting that he might be carrying stolen property, the police intercepted him and searched the brown backpack he was carrying, recovering 750 grams of charas.
During the trial, the prosecution examined nine witnesses, including the complainant, investigating officers, the station house officer, malkhana officials and the constable who carried the sample to the forensic laboratory. The court held that their testimonies consistently established the recovery and the movement of the case property from the spot to the forensic laboratory without any break in the chain of custody.
