Man caught with restricted tablets in Dera Bassi acquitted due to lack of evidence

The accused, a resident of Chhibra Mau, Uttar Pradesh, was allegedly caught with 16,500 restricted tablets near Lehli Chowk in Dera Bassi in March 2019

A local court has acquitted an Uttar Pradesh man accused of drug peddling after the prosecution failed to produce an independent witness and adequate evidence.

A local court acquitted drug peddling-accused after the prosecution failed to produce an independent witness and adequate evidence. (HT File)

The accused, Sourav Tiwari, a resident of Chhibra Mau, Kanauj District, Uttar Pradesh, was allegedly caught with 16,500 tablets made with the banned salt diphenoxylate near Lehli Chowk in Dera Bassi in March 2019. He was charge-sheeted under Section 22 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act.

But the special court of judge Sandeep Singla said discrepancies and infirmities in the prosecution evidence, coupled with the fact that an independent witness had not joined despite availability, raised serious doubt on the prosecution’s story.

The accused’s counsel, Sumit Sawhney, said his client was wrongly arrested by the police and the prosecution also could not present an independent witness, which proved that there was no case against his client.