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2018 (11) TMI 1955 - HC - Indian LawsGrant of Default bail - smuggling of contraband - presentation of report under Section 173(2) Cr.P.C. by the police without the report of Chemical examiner/Forensic Science Laboratory amounts to incomplete challan or not - absence of any extension of time under Section 36-A(4) of the N.D.P.S. Act - HELD THAT:- When a report is submitted by the police to the Magistrate, he ought to apply his mind to see whether it discloses the commission of an offence, so as to enable it to subject the accused to the rigors of a trial - What would also necessarily flow from this, would be a prima facie opinion by the Court of the commission of an offence which under the N.D.P.S. Act would revolve around establishing the posession of contraband, its nature, content and extent. With respect to the question posed by the learned Single Judge regarding some of the contraband being identifiable through naked eye, inspection based on experience and knowledge, would be a great fallacy and we would respectfully state that it would be grossly unsafe to rely upon such an opinion based on naked eye inspection backed by experience or knowledge to arrive at a prima facie opinion of the commission of an offence to submit an accused to the rigors of trial by the Magistrate in the exercise of its powers under Section 190 Cr.P.C. - Non-inclusion of the Chemical Examiner's opinion in the report under Section 173 Cr.P.C. would expose the accused to unfounded dangers imperiling and endangering his liberty since the provisions of the N.D.P.S. Act in its applicability to a trial and conclusion are stringent in consequence. Thus, it is essential that the report of the Chemical Examiner be included in the report under Section 173 Cr.P.C. and without which it can at best be termed to be an incomplete challan depriving the Magistrate of relevant material take cognizance and if it is not submitted within the requisite period of 180 days, it would essentially result in a default benefit to the accused unless an application is moved by the Investigating Agency apprising the Court of status of investigation with a prayer for extension of time to the satisfaction of the Court. The State should also sensitize their Investigation Officers to make an application for extension of time to submit the report in the prescribed period so as to obviate any chances of an accused getting benefit of the default clause. Reference disposed off - List all the cases before Single Bench appropriately as per roster.
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