NDPS court in Mumbai acquits five accused in a Kurla ganja seizure case citing rat-eaten samples and unreliable forensic analysis | Representational Image
Mumbai, Jan 01: In a five-year-old case, a special court under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985, has acquitted five accused booked for allegedly carrying around 130 kg of ganja.
The accused were let off after the court refused to accept the report of the chemical analyser and held that the seized substance did not fall under the definition of ‘ganja’.
ANC tip-off led to interception near Kurla mall
According to the prosecution, on January 30, 2021, an officer of the Anti Narcotic Cell (ANC) received a tip-off that the accused would arrive the next day in a car near Hotel Dwarka, opposite Phoenix City Mall, Kurla, to sell ganja. Acting on it, the police laid a trap on January 31, 2021, and intercepted the vehicle.
Accused found carrying multiple rexine bags
Three people first alighted from the car carrying black rexine bags. Subsequently, the driver and another person seated beside him also got down. The driver was carrying one black rexine bag, while the other person was holding two heavy rexine bags, one black and one brown.
Seizure and forensic examination
The accused were identified as Rajesh Jaiswal alias George, Durgaprasad Yeddu, Sufian Khan, Nisar Shaikh and Nijamuddin Shaikh. During the search, the police first examined two bags, black and brown, allegedly in the possession of Jaiswal.
These bags were found to contain leaves, flowers, flowering tops, seeds and stalks, with a total weight of 36.230 kg. The bag carried by Nisar contained similar material weighing 23 kg. Samples were drawn and sent for forensic examination.
Charge-sheet filed after chemical analyser’s report
The chemical analyser later opined that all the samples were ganja, following which a charge-sheet was filed. Meanwhile, the bulk quantity of the seized material was destroyed as per directions of the disposal committee.
Defence highlights procedural lapses
However, during the trial, defence counsel Munira Palanpurwala pointed out serious procedural lapses. She argued that the inventory of the seized consignment was produced before the judicial magistrate after a delay of two-and-a-half years and that the samples drawn during the inventory process were never sent to the Forensic Science Laboratory, and only the samples seized at the spot were examined.
Court examines legal definition of ganja
The court also noted that the legal definition of ‘ganja’ specifies that it refers to the flowering or fruiting tops of the cannabis plant, excluding seeds and leaves when not accompanied by the tops.
In this case, the court observed that the seizure panchnama and oral evidence showed that the seized material consisted of green leaves, seeds, flowering and fruiting tops. It was not the prosecution’s case that all these parts were a form of stem.
Chemical analyser’s opinion termed unreliable
In his testimony, the chemical analyser stated that the material received by him contained leaves, seeds, flowering tops and stalks. The court observed that the expert analysed leaves, seeds and stalks and still concluded that the substance was ganja, an opinion the court termed “incorrect and totally unreliable” in light of the statutory definition. The court also criticised the expert for relying only on colour tests, which are merely indicative.
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Other discrepancies noted during trial
The court also found several discrepancies in the testimonies of the raiding officers, noted variations in the weight of the contraband mentioned in the seizure panchnama and the inventory prepared before the magistrate, and recorded that the samples preserved during the trial were destroyed after being eaten by rats.
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