Reaffirming the settled principles governing appeals against acquittal, the Gujarat High Court has dismissed the State’s appeal and confirmed the trial court’s acquittal of the accused in a case involving alleged recovery of a large quantity of over 4000 foreign liquor bottles and 175 grams of poppy straw. The Court treated the unexplained delay in registration of the FIR as a serious infirmity, especially when the truck had allegedly been intercepted in the early hours but the FIR was lodged only later in the afternoon.
Separately, the Court made an important observation regarding possible corruption-related proceedings involving Gujarat State Traffic Police personnel. It requested the Director of Prosecution to look into the matter and directed that if those proceedings had not culminated in a criminal trial, appropriate action should be taken against the concerned police officer or officers involved in the alleged acts of corruption referred to in the case.
A Single Judge Bench of Justice Hemant M. Prachchhak found serious weaknesses in the prosecution case. It noted that although the complainant claimed he received information from higher authorities after the truck was intercepted, he admittedly made no station diary entry and no case diary entry recording receipt of that information. The Court treated this omission as significant because the prosecution story began with this prior information and subsequent police action.
The Court also found the delay in lodging the FIR unexplained. Even though the information was received in the early hours of Sep 19, 2007 and the police remained engaged in panchnama proceedings till morning, the FIR was registered only at about 3:00 p.m. The judgment records that no explanation was given for this inordinate delay. On the evidence relating to the seized liquor, the Court observed that despite recovery of different brands of foreign liquor and beer cans, the investigating officer did not send the liquor for FSL examination and did not obtain any expert report, even though the FSL was located at Gandhinagar. This failure weakened the prosecution case further.
On the NDPS allegation, the Court held that the prosecution failed to prove conscious possession of the poppy straw. The witnesses did not clearly establish which accused was in conscious possession of the substance allegedly found beneath the driver’s seat. The Court therefore found a vital gap in linking the contraband to the accused.
The Court also noted major investigative lapses regarding the truck and the larger transportation chain. No registration certificate or ownership document of the truck was collected and placed on record. Although statements were recorded in Rajasthan and Haryana regarding licensed poppy straw trade and manufacture of liquor, the investigating agency did not find out who arranged the transport, where the liquor was to be delivered in Gujarat, or who the intended recipient was. The Court considered this a serious failure, especially when a huge quantity of liquor was allegedly being transported into Gujarat.
Another important observation was that the recovered poppy straw was only 175 grams, whereas the judgment notes that the commercial quantity for poppy straw is one kilogram. The Court further observed that there was no evidence showing the purpose for which the substance was allegedly possessed, and no investigation was undertaken to establish whether it was meant for commercial use or otherwise. This added to the prosecution’s inability to prove its case beyond reasonable doubt.
Briefly, the State of Gujarat filed a criminal appeal under Section 378(1)(3) of the Code of Criminal Procedure challenging the trial court’s order dated May 08, 2008, by which the accused were acquitted of offences under Sections 15, 27 and 29 of the NDPS Act and Sections 66(B), 65AE, 116(B) and 81 of the Bombay Prohibition Act. The prosecution case was that on Sep 19, 2007, near Bhagyoday Hotel, the police raided a and allegedly found a large quantity of foreign liquor loaded in it. According to the complaint, 331 boxes containing 3972 bottles, along with 478 beer tins, were seized, and poppy straw weighing 175 grams was also allegedly recovered from the truck. After preparing the panchnamas and arrest papers, the police arrested the accused and filed the charge-sheet.
