Delhi court acquits man in 2019 NDPS case

A Delhi court has acquitted a man in a case lodged under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act in connection with the alleged seizure of ganja from his possession, saying the prosecution has failed to prove its case against the accused.

Special Judge Puneet Pahwa was hearing a case against Babu alias Rahul, who was named as an accused in an NDPS case after 1.84 kg of ganja was allegedly found in his bag in 2019.

In an order dated January 9, the court said, “It can be said that the prosecution has failed to prove its case beyond all reasonable doubts that accused Babu alias Rahul was found in possession of alleged 1.84 kg of ganja. Therefore, the accused is entitled for the benefit of the doubt and thus, accused Babu alias Rahul stands acquitted in the present case.”

The court said various contradictions and discrepancies were noticed in the testimonies of the prosecution witnesses and thus, the testimonies could not be solely relied on and could not be considered safe.

Also Read: AISA leaders in JNU seek crowdfunding to pay fines, say penalised for ‘peaceful protests’

“In view of the above discussion and various contradictions and discrepancies noticed in the testimonies of prosecution witnesses, especially Assistant Sub-Inspector Vijyant Kumar and Constable Vineet Kumar, this court is of the view that in the present case, it is not safe to rely solely on the uncorroborated testimonies of police officials, who were all part of the same team,” the court said.

It noted lapses in the investigation and said the NDPS Act was not duly complied with in the case.

“This court has no hesitation in holding that in the present case, section 50 (right to be searched before a gazetted officer or magistrate) of the NDPS Act has not been duly complied with, even though the accused did wish to be searched before the gazetted officer, as the option of taking him to the nearest magistrate or gazetted officer was not even given to him,” the judge said.

The accused was arrested after ganja (marijuana) weighing 1.84 kg was allegedly found is his bag on June 29, 2019.

An FIR was registered against him under sections 20 (punishment for contravention in relation to cannabis), 61 (confiscation of goods used for concealing illicit drugs) and 85 of the NDPS Act at the Dayal Pur police station.