WARIS KHAN and 2 others vs THE STATE

' SARDAR MUHAMMAD RAZA KHAN, J.--- Waris Khan, Nizam and Gulzada seek leave to appeal against the judgment, dated 25-1-2005 rendered by a learned Division Bench of Lahore High Court, Rawalpindi Bench, whereby, the petitioners, under section 9(c) of the Control of Narcotic Substances Act, t997, stood finally convicted and sentenced to imprisonment for life with a fine of rupees ten lac each, in default of payment whereof, they were to suffer further simple imprisonment for two years.

2. Charge against the petitioners was that while travelling together in Mercedes Car No,IDD-7474, they were checked by Excise Staff on 22-5-2001 at 1330 hours. From the secret cavities of the car, Charas weighing 48 kilograms and opium weighing 1.2 kilograms were recovered. F.I.R. No,148 was registered at Police Station Attock Khurd, District Attock. The sentence imposed by learned Additional Sessions Judge, Attock was upheld by the learned High Court.

2-A. Driving by car, having not been denied by the accused, their physical apprehension on the spot, the consistent version of all the prosecution witnesses, the recovery occasioned from the secret cavities of the contraband material having been declared by the Chemical Examiner to be Charas and opium; all go a long way to prove the prosecution case without any shadow of reasonable doubt.

3. The pleas taken by all the three convicts are independently taken up, discussed and answered by the Court, especially the trial Court. The conviction cannot be taken an exception to.

4. So far as the sentence is concerned, the learned counsel for the petitioners has seriously assailed the same. The main objection of the learned counsel was, taking for example the Charas, that allegedly it consisted of 48 packets but, as determined by the superior Courts from time to time, the recovery officer has not obtained samples for chemical analysis from each and every packet so as to prove that every packet was that of Charas. We have consumed a lot of time to assess the genuineness or otherwise of the arguments during which we came across the reports of Chemical Examiner at pp.62 and 63 of the file. Therefrom it transpires, with no doubt and discrepancy, that only one packet of Charas and only one packet of opium was sent to the Chemical Examiner for the purposes of analysis and to that effect, the report was in positive. The omission and inefficiency of the officer concerned constrains us to hold that only a small amount of the alleged total is proved to be Charas and opium.

5. Consequently, while upholding the conviction and by conversion of petition into appeal, it is partially allowed qua the sentence. The imprisonment for life is reduced to rigorous imprisonment for ten years each along with a fine of Rupees two hundred thousand (Rs,2,00,000) each, in default of payment whereof each convict would suffer imprisonment for one year.