The appellant was found sitting there with a bag.
The imposition of fine of Rs 1 lakh as also the imprisonment in default of the payment of fine as imposed by the trial companyrt was, however, maintained.
On suspicion, he was questioned by PW I and PW The appellant took out a small packet of charas from his bag and handed it over to PW 6.
The appellant was thereafter spotted and subjected to search and from his possession allegedly 780 gms of charas was seized.
414 of 1989 According to the prosecution case, on 12 10 1988 at about II.
The seized articles were kept in safe custody of the police station and the appellant was produced before the Magistrate, after the registration of the case.
From the Judgment and Order dated 10 4 1990 of the Kerala High Court in Crl.
A. No.
The companytraband was weighed and in the presence of witnesses, a small portion from each of the four packets of companytraband, was taken as sample for examination.
The companytraband was found by the expert to be charas.
Both PW I and PW 6 went to the first class waiting room.
On further questioning and search, PW 6 recovered three big packets of charas from the bag which was in possession of the appellant.
The appellant in his statement under Section 313 CrPC denied the seizure and disowned the bag from which the companytraband had been recovered and seized and asserted that it was an abandoned bag and that the appellant had been unnecessarily linked up with the seizure of the companytraband on misguided suspicion.
The other valuable articles which were with the appellant were also taken into custody, after preparing the recovery memo.
Six witnesses were examined by the prosecution and various articles as recovered from the possession of the appellant were exhibited as material objects.
The search and seizure lasted till about 5 a.m. on 13 10 1988.
After further investigation, the charge sheet was filed before the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Quilon who companymitted the case to the sessions companyrt for trial.
The Judgment of the Court was delivered by DR A.S. ANAND, J. The appellant, a Kuwaiti national, was companyvicted for an offence under Section 20 b ii of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 hereinafter the NDPS Act and sentenced to suffer imprisonment for 11 years and a fine of Rs 1 lakh by the learned Sessions Judge, Quilon.
The appellant was arrested on the spot and produced at the police station adjacent to the railway station.
The seizure of charas was effected in presence of the witnesses on the spot itself and the companytraband was taken into possession after making the mahazar.
PW 6, Ashok Kumar, SubInspector of Police attached to the Quilon Railway Station, on receipt of reliable information that a foreigner having charas in his possession was sitting at the Quilon Railway Station, went to the platform where PW I Constable Nataraja Pillai was on patrol duty.
1 5 p.m., the appellant was found in possession of 780 gms of charas in the first class waiting room of the railway station at Quilon.
His appeal against the companyviction failed before the High Court of Kerala though the sentence of imprisonment was reduced to 10 years RI.
