NDPS court acquits two arrested in ‘15kg’ marijuana seizure case

A special court in Mumbai acquitted two men who were accused of carrying 15kg of marijuana after finding discrepancies in the prosecution evidence.

MUMBAI: Nearly nine years after being booked for carrying 15kg marijuana (ganja), a special court designated under NDPS (Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substance Act) acquitted a 58-year-old labourer and 37-year-old farmer from Beed.

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The duo was acquitted after the court found several discrepancies in the prosecution evidence.

According to the prosecution case, the officials of the Anti Narcotic Cell (ANC) of the Mumbai police received a tip-off that two persons from Beeb, identified as Ashok Tarte and Bhimrao Karande, were reaching Chheda Nagar junction in the Eastern Express Highway to sell marijuana. Based on the information, the officials arranged a trap.

When the two reached the spot at about 12.40pm in a white Honda car, the police frisked them and conducted a search operation, they found two bags from the boot. Upon examination, it turned out the materials inside the bags were marijuana which weighed 15kg in all – 10kg in one bag and 5 kg in another.

The police took samples and seized the rest of the consignment. The samples were sent for forensic examination.

The prosecution examined seven witnesses in connection to the case before the special NDPS court to prove the case against the two accused. However, the court found several anomalies in the prosecution case.

The court noted that there was a mistake in the deposition of a key witness about the contraband seized from Tarte. The prosecution claimed that 10kg marijuana was found in the bag owned by him, but the police officer, who was the complainant in the case, stated it to be 1kg. He claimed that an officer had taken two samples each weighing 25gm from the contraband seized from Tarte and kept the remaining 950gm marijuana.

The court noted that according to the prosecution case, 10kg of ganja was seized from Tarte’s bag, thus, the remaining quantity should be 9.950kg. The court said there was a serious contradiction in the deposition of the complainant.

The court also noticed discrepancies in other aspects of the case.

“Three material police witnesses erred in stating the weight of the contraband seized. There was confusion as to who sealed the samples and the (seized) bulk quantities. There is confusion about the place of search for the accused and the time of the search for the accused. There are mistakes about the weight of contraband which caused serious aspersion over the prosecution case,” said the special court.

“Important compliance like the search of police party by panch witnesses and giving opportunity to the accused to search raiding party etc. are not done in this case. These lacunae have caused serious aspersion over prosecution cases,” the special court added.

“There are material lacunas in the testimony of an independent witness in respect of the sequence of evidence, signatures on labels, the weight of samples, signatures of panch and police officer on samples, the weight of the bags seized from accused No.2 and the bag found in boot of the car and place where the raiding party came back from the spot,” the special NDPS court said in its order acquitting the two men, holding the prosecution case was untrustworthy.