Chandigarh: In a significant judgment which may well be used as a guideline in lower courts, the Punjab and Haryana High Court today held that mere absence of an independent witness cannot make the case of prosecution doubtful.
The orders were passed by a division bench headed by Justice J S Khehar in a narcotics case, where the acquittal of two accused was set aside and they were awarded ten years of imprisonment and a fine of Rs 1 lakh.
Those who have been held guilty under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act are Dharampal Singh of Ferozepur and Major Singh of Faridkot.
They were booked by the Punjab Police on charges of possessing 100 gms of opium in 1994 and acquitted by the trial court on May 7, 1997, which held that in the absence of an independent witness, false implication could not be ruled out.
As per the case made out by the prosecution, on June 4, 1994, the duo was travelling in a Maruti car (PID-6096) when a police party stopped them for search. A gunny bag, containing 100 gms of opium, was found in the car and they were booked under the NDPS Act since they were not able to produce any licence for possession of opium.
However, their defence counsel took the plea that there was no independent witness in whose presence the search was carried out.
The High Court, setting aside the order of the trial court, converted the acquittal into ten years of imprisonment. “Since no enmity against prosecution witnesses was either alleged or proved, it cannot be imagined that such a big haul of opium could be planted,” the High Court held.
The High Court further held that the mere fact that no independent witness joined could not weaken the case of prosecution.
The court adder, “In these circumstances, the trial court was wrong… Even if some persons passed that way after the recovery of opium, their joining would have hardly been of any consequence.”
Source: ENS