Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, May 30: Perfunctory investigation has led to the acquittal of an accused booked under Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act after 18 year long trial by the court of Principal Sessions Judge Kulgam.
As per the prosecution case, the accused Aijaz Ahmad Rather, son of Fateh Mohammad Rather of Wanpora Qazigund was arrested on March 10, 2004 along with charas and poppy straw. Accordingly, case under FIR No. 53 of 2004 for the commission of offences punishable under Sections 15/18,20 NDPS Act was registered and the investigation of the case was started.
The accused person was charged by the court for the commission of offences under Sections 15/18, 20 NDPS Act vide order dated 14.06.2004, to which he did not plead guilty and claimed trial. However, sham investigation and non-appearance of material witnesses has led to the acquittal after 18 years long trial.
“In the instant case except of an isolated part of search and seizure, nothing is proved before the court. At the risk of repetition, all the material facts remained unproved”, Principal Sessions Judge Kulgam Tahir Khurshid Raina observed, adding “I am pained to notice such a perfunctory investigation done in the serious offences under NDPS Act which are burgeoning day by day, affecting the society at large and eating its very vitals”.
“More disgusting is the casual and lackadaisical attitude of the Investigating Officer who in the long drawn trail of 18 years, never bothered to see the fate of the charge sheet he filed in the court against the accused way back in 2004. It is the second consecutive criminal case which I am deciding in a span of just fortnight, which is quite old, where, after a long drawn trial of 18 years in the court, the case has simply failed on account of non production of material witnesses including the IO of the case”, Principal Sessions Judge further observed.
“If the prosecution has not to produce material witnesses in the case and if IOs of the cases have to behave in such a casual and cavalier manners during the trial in the cases, then what for they make such a sham investigations at the expense of state exchequer, which has otherwise to fail in the court”, the Judge said, adding “what for they trouble the accused to face trial so long and waste the precious time of the courts in such cases whose foundations have already been weakened by them and just as mere formality put some papers in the court, giving it the name of a charge sheet, which in its actuality is a discharge sheet of the accused”.
The Judge further said, “unfortunately, there is a full scale rise of crimes of drug trafficking in the society, spreading its tentacles around quite unabated and un-checked. Inspite of all tall claims of the police to have nabbed the perpetrators of this crime, there is no decline in its spread. One of the stark reasons is perfunctory and sham investigation being done by the police in such cases which simply gives the accused and their ilk an impression that there is no big deal in getting arrested and remaining behind the bar for a brief time in such offences as the case against them is likely to fall in the court like house of cards, entailing no punishment at all”.
With these observations, court acquitted the accused of the charges.
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