State of Himachal Pradesh Vs Surat Singh (Supreme Court of India)
The present criminal appeal arose from a judgment of the High Court of Himachal Pradesh dated 08.10.2015, which set aside the conviction and sentence imposed by the Special Judge-I, Shimla, under Section 20 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985. The trial court had convicted the accused and sentenced him to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment along with a fine of ₹1,00,000. The High Court, however, held that the prosecution failed to prove the case and acquitted the accused. Aggrieved by this decision, the State preferred an appeal before the Supreme Court.
The prosecution case was that on 13.03.2013, a police party conducting naka checking apprehended the accused, who was carrying a red-gray backpack and allegedly attempted to flee. Upon search of the bag, charas weighing 11 kg 50 grams was recovered. The contraband was sealed, samples were drawn, and procedural steps such as registration of FIR, deposit in malkhana, preparation of NCB forms, and forwarding to the forensic laboratory were completed. The prosecution examined 11 witnesses. The accused denied the allegations and claimed false implication. The trial court convicted the accused based on the evidence.
On appeal, the High Court found that although the accused was carrying a bag, his personal search was also conducted. The police gave the accused options to be searched before a Magistrate, a Gazetted Officer, or by the police officer in the presence of witnesses. The High Court held that Section 50 of the NDPS Act requires that the accused be informed only of two options—search before a Magistrate or a Gazetted Officer—and does not permit a third option of search before a police officer. The consent obtained from the accused was therefore not in accordance with law. This deviation was held to be a violation of Section 50 and sufficient to vitiate the entire trial. Consequently, the High Court set aside the conviction and acquitted the accused.
