TMI Blog2015 (10) TMI 416X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... rsion. Since no complaint was made either by DW-2 or his sister about the appellant Netrapal having been lifted and whisked away from the liquor vend at Sahibabad, the version of DW-2 also becomes unacceptable. Similar is the case with the statement made by appellant Vir Chand Rai before the Trial Court under Section 315 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. It does not appear to be probable that such a huge quantity of narcotics substance would be planted/foisted on the appellants for being dragged and tried in the present case. - judgment of the Trial Court brooks of no interference. - The appeal, thus fails and is dismissed. - Decided against the appellants. - CRL.A. 745/2011 & CRL.M.(BAIL) 10545/2014 - - - Dated:- 9-9-2015 - Ashutosh Kumar, J. For the Petitioner : Mr Rajtilak Guha Roy, Adv For the Respondents : Mr Rajesh Manchanda and MrRajatManchanda, Advs ORDER Ashutosh Kumar, J. 1. Both the appeals are being disposed of by this common judgment. 2. The appellants have been convicted under Sections 20(b) (ii) (C) read with 29 of the NDPS Act by judgment of conviction dated 21.4.2011 passed by the Special Judge, NDPS, Patiala House Courts, New D ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ri (PW-3) received a secret information (Ex.PW-3/1) on 30.10.2005 that one Veera has brought ganja from Bihar in truck bearing registration No.UP 12H 7336 and the aforesaid truck is scheduled to reach AzadpurMandi Chowk in between 2 to 3 P.M for the purpose of delivering ganja to the customers. The aforesaid information was forwarded to A.Shankar Rao (PW-8), Zonal Director, NCB who on receipt of such information commanded for conducting a raid after constituting a team for the same. 7. A team comprising P.C.Khanduri (PW-3), N.S.Yadav (PW-5) and Vikas Kumar (PW-7) found a truck by the aforesaid registration number parked in front of Adarsh Nagar police station. Three persons were found to be sitting in the driver's cabin, who disclosed their names as that of the appellants and one Bhupender Singh who claimed himself to be the driver of the truck. Initially the response of the appellants was that the truck contained boxes of fruit juices of Dabur Company and some clothes. A statement was made by Bhupender Singh, the driver of the truck that the 12 boxes of clothes belonged to appellant Vir Chand Rai who had loaded the same on 26.10.2005 near a petrol pump in the district of Mo ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... rmation was reduced in writing and transmitted to A.Shankar Rao, Zonal Director (PW-8) who directed for the search. He has testified to the fact that the contraband was recovered from the truck. In the cabin of the truck, the appellants were found to be sitting. He has stated that at about 5.30 PM, the truck and the appellants were brought to the NCB office at R.K.Puram where the parcels were unloaded. 650 cartons of fruit juices of Dabur Company and 12 parcels of white plastic bag were found. In the 12 plastic bags were 24 parcels, which were marked A to X and the contents of the same were separately weighed. The total weight of the contraband, (ganja) was found to be 275 kgs. The sampling was done in accordance with the rules and the same were marked with the seal of NCB, DZU-3. The test memos and the recovery memos were prepared which too were affixed with the same seal. The proceedings concluded at about 11.40 PM in the office of NCB. The recovery memo has collectively been exhibited as Ex.PW-3/2 which bears the signature of Sushil Gupta, a public witness (not examined). PW-3 recorded the statement of the appellants under Section 67 of the Act which was signed by the appellants ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... d by the Chemical Examiner, M.D.Mandol on 10.1.2006 which was signed by him. The aforesaid report is Ex.PW-1/3 which bears the signature of PW-1 and M.D.Mandol. PW-1 has categorically denied the suggestion that when the samples were produced before him they were found to be tampered. 21. Manoj Kumar Aggarwal (PW-4) has stated that he joined the raiding team in the office of NCB after the recovery of the ganja. He has testified to the fact that he issued summons to both the appellants to tender their statements. He also recorded the statement of one D.N.Sharma of M/s.Dabur Foods (Ex.PW-4/11). The driver of the truck namely Bhupender Singh and the owner of the truck namely Nokha Singh tendered their statements which have been exhibited as PW-4/12 and PW.4/13 respectively. 22. Thus from the deposition of the aforesaid witnesses it transpires that all the mandatory provisions of the NDPS Act have been duly complied with. No folly could be found by this Court in the sampling process or in the procedure by which the samples were kept in the malkhana and were later sent to CRCL. There is no evidence of any tampering of the seal, prior to it being analysed for determining the nature ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... upying the driver's cabin. It is not necessary that the names of the accused persons must be mentioned in the secret information. Secret information is only for the purposes of apprising the police officer about the possibility of a crime being committed and such intimation is for the purpose that in case the police authorities act with dispatch, the accused persons could be apprehended. Such information, for practical reasons also, may not contain specific names of the accused persons/miscreants who later are apprehended and put to trial. The statements tendered by Bhupender Singh, the driver of the truck and Nokha Singh, the owner of the truck clearly establish that they were completely unaware of the contents of the 12 boxes which were stated by appellant Vir Chand Rai as containing clothes. Aforesaid Nokha Singh has been examined as PW-10 who has testified to the fact that Bhupinder Singh was the driver of the truck which he owned and also proved his statement (Ex.PW-4/13) which was given by him to the NCB officials. In this context, it would be relevant to point out that the appellants, in their statement under Section 67 of the NDPS Act have not alluded to any knowledge o ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ion 50 of the Act. The Supreme Court in Pawan Kumar (Supra) at paragraphs 8, 9 and 10 has stated as follows:- 8. One of the basic principles of interpretation of statutes is to construe them according to plain, literal and grammatical meaning of the words. If that is contrary to, or inconsistent with, any express intention or declared purpose of the statute, or if it would involve any absurdity, repugnancy or inconsistency, the grammatical sense must then be modified, extended or abridged, so far as to avoid such an inconvenience, but no further. The onus of showing that the words do not mean what they say lies heavily on the party who alleges it. He must advance something which clearly shows that the grammatical construction would be repugnant to the intention of the Act or lead to some manifest absurdity (see Craies on Statute Law, 7th Edn., pp. 83-85). In the well-known treatise - Principles of Statutory Interpretation by Justice G.P. Singh, the learned author has enunciated the same principle that the words of the statute are first understood in their natural, ordinary or popular sense and phrases and sentences are construed according to their grammatical meaning, unless th ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... on. Having regard to the scheme of the Act and the context in which it has been used in the section it naturally means a human being or a living individual unit and not an artificial person. The word has to be understood in a broad common-sense manner and, therefore, not a naked or nude body of a human being but the manner in which a normal human being will move about in a civilised society. Therefore, the most appropriate meaning of the word person appears to be - the body of a human being as presented to public view usually with its appropriate coverings and clothing . In a civilised society appropriate coverings and clothings are considered absolutely essential and no sane human being comes in the gaze of others without appropriate coverings and clothings. The appropriate coverings will include footwear also as normally it is considered an essential article to be worn while moving outside one's home. Such appropriate coverings or clothings or footwear, after being worn, move along with the human body without any appreciable or extra effort. Once worn, they would not normally get detached from the body of the human being unless some specific effort in that direction is mad ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... d by the appellants under Section 67 of the NDPS Act. 42. The statement of DW-1, the Nodal Officer does not help the defence version. There is no reference of any telephone number through which the secret information was received in the police station. Thus the statement of the nodal officer with regard to two numbers not being active on or at the relevant time does not impact the prosecution version. 43. Since no complaint was made either by DW-2 or his sister about the appellant Netrapal having been lifted and whisked away from the liquor vend at Sahibabad, the version of DW-2 also becomes unacceptable. Similar is the case with the statement made by appellant Vir Chand Rai before the Trial Court under Section 315 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. 44. It does not appear to be probable that such a huge quantity of narcotics substance would be planted/foisted on the appellants for being dragged and tried in the present case. 45. Thus on the aforementioned discussion, this Court is of the opinion that the judgment of the Trial Court brooks of no interference. 46. The appeal, thus fails and is dismissed. 47. Trial Court records be returned. Crl.M.(B) 10545/2014 i ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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