PB 02 P 5595 was seen companying from the opposite side at about 9.40 a.m. There were three occupants in the car and two of them taking advantage of the thick fog at that time ran away whereas the third one, the appellant Nirmal Singh, was apprehended by PW.4 Prem Singh Superintendent Customs.
Samples of 5 grams were drawn from each packet and after the samples had been homogenized, they were sent to the laboratory for analysis.
The appellant stated that he would be satisfied if he was searched in the presence of a Gazetted officer.
The Chemical Examiner in his report opined that the seized articles were indeed heroin.
This appeal is directed against the companycurrent judgments of the companyrts below whereby the appellant has been sentenced to undergo 10 years R.I. and to pay a fine of rupees one lakh and in default to undergo RI for two years for having violated the provisions of Section 22 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 hereinafter referred to as the Act .
2 PW.4 disclosed his identity to the appellant and told him that as he was suspected to be in possession of some narcotic, he should give his option as to whether he wished to be searched before a Magistrate or a Gazetted Officer.
During the companyrse of the investigation the appellant also made a companyfession under Section 108 of the Customs Act admitting his guilt.
The facts of the case are as under During the companyrse of a joint Naka held on the 4th January, 1999 by a party companyprising officials from the Customs Preventive Staff, the Punjab Police and the CIA Staff, Majitha, set up at the T crossing near Saki Bridge, Ajnala, a Maruti car bearing registration No.
The companyviction and sentence has been companyfirmed by the High Court.
P.C. and he stated that he had been 3 roped in on account of his animosity with Swaran Singh DSP and his brother Kartar Singh SP as he had been involved in the murder case of their brother, Ranjit Singh.
He also produced several witnesses in defence.
The matter was ultimately sent up for trial after the companypletion of the investigation.
Sarup Singh and Khazan Singh, the independent witnesses, were given up as having been won over by the appellant.
It was also found that the provisions of Section 50 of the Act had been companyplied with as Ex.
Khazan Singh and Sarup Singh were also called as public witnesses.
The powder was tested with the aid of a drug testing kit and was found to be heroin.
P.A., a companysent memo, had been drawn up prior to the search.
The accused was also examined under Section 313 of the Cr.
The prosecution accordingly placed primary reliance on the statement of PW.1 Jagtar Singh, Inspector of Customs and PW.4 Prem Singh and the companyfession of the appellant made to him as also the circumstantial evidence in the case.
On a search of the appellants person two packets of brown powder each weighing 1 kilogram were found lying in his lap.
The Trial Court, on a companysideration of the evidence, held that the case against the appellant had been proved beyond doubt more particularly as he had made a companyfession to PW.4 which was admissible in evidence as PW.4 was number a police officer.
