| CITATION | 2023 INSC 852 |
| DATE OF JUDGMENT | 22nd September 2022 |
| COURT | Supreme Court India |
| APPELLANT | Balwinder Singh. |
| RESPONDENT | Narcotics control Bureau |
| BENCH | HON’BLE JUSTICE HIMA KOHLI |
INTRODUCTION
This appeals arise from the common judgment passed by the Division Bench of the High Court of Punjab and Haryana at Chandigarh deciding the Murder Reference prepared by the Judge, Special Court for confirmation of death sentence, appeal preferred by Balwinder Singh and the appeal filed by Satnam Singh.
FACTS OF THE CASE
The persons who were indulging in the sale of contraband, were travelling in a white coloured Indica car from Amritsar to supply contraband at a bus stand at Chandigarh. A naka was laid by the NCB team at Chandigarh and two independent witnesses were associated in the investigation. The NCB team noticed that a car coming from Sector 25 and heading towards Sector 24, Chandigarh, The third individual, who was also sporting a turban and eventually revealed his name to be Satnam Singh, stayed inside the vehicle.
In front of the independent witnesses, members of the NCB team stopped the car and searched Satnam Singh. They discovered two packets wrapped in khaki tape in the door panel’s cavity after searching the vehicle. Two further comparable packets wrapped in khaki tape were found after the seat cover of the vehicle’s back seat was unzipped. The packets, according to Satnam Singh, contained heroin that he had transported from Amritsar with the help of Balwinder Singh3 and a man by the name of Harpreet Singh alias Preet alias Sarpanch in order to sell it in Chandigarh.
He further disclosed that Balwinder Singh and Sarpanch ran away when the car had stopped a few yards before the naka. The NCB officers seized all the four packets and after taking out two representative samples, sealed them.
ISSUE RAISED
- Whether the appellant can be acquitted or not?
CONTENTIONS OF APPELANT
Learned counsel for the appellant contended that his client’s conviction was based primarily on the alleged confession statement given by the co-accused. In light of this Court’s ruling in the case of Tofan Singh v. State of Tamil Nadu, Satnam Singh’s appearance before NCB officials is no longer admissible in court. Balwinder Singh was charged with three additional NDPS Act offenses, but after being given the benefit of the doubt, he was cleared in all three cases. However, in this instance, the High Court’s sentence was already carried out while the current appeal was pending.
CONTENTIONS OF RESPONDENT
Learned counsel for the respondent claimed that the NCB had provided sufficient evidence to support the indictment of Balwinder Singh and Satnam Singh. The burden of proof shifted to the appellants to establish their innocence, and they utterly failed to do so, he claimed. He also claimed that none of the witnesses presented by the NCB were planted, as claimed; that the NCB had successfully established a prima facie case against the appellants; that the prosecution had amply proven the foundational facts to attract the rigors of the NDPS Act; and that the actus reus, namely possession of contraband by the appellant.
JUDGEMENT
Satnam Singh, the appellant, has not succeeded in establishing a cause for acquittal. The conviction and sentence imposed on Satnam Singh are therefore upheld.
As a result, the Criminal Appeal No. 1933 of 2014 is denied, and Satnam Singh’s conviction and sentence, which were imposed by the trial court and upheld by the High Court, are upheld.
However, Criminal Appeal No. 1136 of 2014 is upheld, and Balwinder Singh is found not guilty.
CONCLUSION
Satnam Singh’s said that Sonu’s8 involvement in the crime was actually Sonu’s fault and that Sonu was caught with the contraband but was released because he paid off NCB officers has been correctly disbelieved by both courts because there is no cogent evidence to support it.
REFERENCE
This Article is written by Prazzal Mohanty student of SOA National Institute of Law, BBSR; Intern at Legal Vidhiya.
