Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Feb 16: 1st Additional Sessions Judge Jammu, M S Parihar today discharged two charas smugglers at the stage of faming charges as police failed to produce FSL report, which is mandatory under NDPS Act.
While discharging Mohammad Latief Khan and Shahbaz Khan from the charges, 1st Additional Sessions Judge observed, “in the instant case the perusal of the file reveals that on 25.04.2014 the accused were arrested by a naka police party at Satwari when the accused were going on a scooter and on their search the police recovered a substance like charas weighing over 2 kg from them”.
“In this connection a case was registered under FIR No. 80/2014 for commission of offence under Section 8/20 NDPS Act at Police Station Satwari. The investigating agency during the course of investigation collected samples of the contraband and after proper sealing, sent the same to FSL Jammu for expert opinion”, the court further observed.
On completion of the investigation, the charge sheet was filed on 24/07/2014 but the FSL report was not annexed with the charge sheet as the same was not received till that time. “Thereafter, this court directed time and again to SHO Police Station Satwari to produce the FSL report in this case so that the trial of the case is proceeded but the FSL report has not been produced”, the court said, adding in the cases under the NDPS Act, FSL report is necessary and in absence of the expert opinion the court cannot presume that the substance allegedly recovered from the possession of the accused by the police is charas as alleged in this case and the charge can be framed against the accused for commission of offence under section 8/20 NDPS Act only on the basis of the positive report of the expert’s opinion”.
With these observations, court discharged the accused persons.
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