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TMI Blog1959 (5) TMI 49X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... caught by the investigating officer and two witnesses Jagar Singh and Niranjan Singh, when the poppy-heads were said to have been tied in a cloth which was being carried by the accused in the form of a bundle placed on his head. A constable was sent to Dhuri town to fetch someone who could weigh the substance recovered Bhagat Ram P. W. 2 came and found the weight of the commodity recovered to be 20 seers; it included both broken and unbroken poppy-heads. It is then alleged that about three months later this very bundle which had been sealed at the time of recovery was again opened and poppy husk and poppy-heads found in it, were separately weighed. The learned Magistrate after going through the entire evidence felt that the prosecution cas ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... overed from the accused did not under the law fall within the definition of the word 'opium' and therefore there was no violation of Section 9 of the Opium Act. The trial Court was also doubtful if the accused person could be present at the place from where he was alleged to have been arrested, because he was shown, in the register produced by the Station Master, to be on duty. 3. On appeal, Mr. Saluja, counsel for the State, has drawn cur attention to the notification dated 28-1-1957 under Section 5 of the Opium Act reproduced at pages 13 and 14 of the Lahore Law Times of 1957, Part V, according to which possession of excise opium or impregnated poppy-heads up to a certain limit has been exempted from the operation of the Opium Ac ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... e Punjab Opium Orders has been prohibited. The counsel has contended that since 1958. however, the provisions prohibiting the possession of popny-heads have been made very stringent and under these provisions the case of the present type will clearly be punishable. But, for the conviction of the accused before us reliance has been placed by Mr. Saluja on The State v. Babu Singh, Criminal Appeal No. 786 of 1957. decided by Falshaw and Dulat JJ., where on 3-7-1957 Babu Singh was found to be in possession of 13/4 seers of poppy-heads from which the juice had been extracted. The learned Sessions Judge had, relying on State v. Sohan Lal, AIR 1956 Punj 159, held that the possession of such poppyr capsules as were found from Babu Singh was not an ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... in the circumstances, be inclined to construe this provision to mean that possession of opium extracted poppy-heads can lawfully be possessed in any quantity. To avoid absurdity or incongruity even grammatical and ordinary sense of the words can in certain circumstances be avoided; in the instant case we have merely to read the above order No. 21.5 as a whole and get at the intention of its authors by putting our own punctuations or by punctuating just one sentence in this order. Mr. Saluja wanted us to send for the original notification to see the punctuations. I am, however, of the view that punctuation of a law. generally speaking, does not control or affect the intention of the legislature in its enactment. The intention is generally ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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