Sabir Ali S/O Muhammad Ali vs The State Through Prosecutor General

Balochistan High Court · 2024 · Before Hon'ble Justice Iqbal Ahmed Kasi

Appellant, viz, Sabir Ali son of Muhammad Ali, through the instant appeal has challenged the validity of the judgment dated 23.10.2023 (‘the impugned judgment’), passed by the Special Judge, under Control of Narcotics Substances Act, 1997, Kachhi (Circuit Mach) (‘the trial Court’), whereby, he was convicted under Sections 9(1)3(b) of the Control of Narcotic Substances Act, 1997 (“the Act of 1997”) and sentenced to suffer rigorous imprisonment for five (05) years and to pay a fine of Rs.50,000/- (rupees fifty thousand), in default to further suffer simple imprisonment for three (03) months, with benefit of Section 382-B, Cr.P .C.

2. Briefly stated facts arising out of the instant appeal are that an FIR No.26 of 2023, dated 12.07.2023 was registered with Police Station Saddar, Mach, on the report of complainant Pir Bakhsh Bugti, SI, with the averments that on the fateful day at about 01:35 p.m. near EN Bungalow Football ground, they during patrolling, stopped a suspected person and on his personal search, got recovered Criminal Appeal No. 506 of 2023 - 2 - Only for viewing purpose. Contact office for certified copy. 540 grams of charas, from a plastic bag, holding by him. Consequently, the FIR was lodged.

3. After completion of usual investigation, challan of the case was submitted before the trial Court and a formal charge was framed and read over to appellant/accused, to which he did not plead guilty and claimed trial.

4. The prosecution in order to substantiate accusation produced and examined as many as five witnesses in support of its case, which are as under: PW-1 Pir Bakhsh Bugti, SI, is the complainant of the case, who produced his report/murasila Ex.P/1-A. PW-2 Muhammad Qasim, recovery witness, who produced the recovery memo of baked hashish 540 grams as Ex.P/2-A and also produced articles, parcel No.1 as Art.P/1, seal sample Art.P/2, black bag as Art.P/4 and baked hashish as Art.P/4. PW-3 Hazar Khan, is also the recovery witness, who produced one attested copy of Register No.19 and four copies of roznamcha as Ex.P/3-A, in pursuance of same produced attested copy of Register No.19 as Art.P/5 and four copies of roznamcha as Art.P/6 to Art.P/9. PW-4 Ghous Bakhsh, is the witness of safe custody of the recovered contraband. PW-5 Tariq Ameer, is the Investigating Officer of the case, who produced FIR, seizure of personal search, murasila dated 13.07.2023, murasila dated 13.07.2023 to SSP Kachhi, incomplete challan, FSL report and supplementary challan dated 07.08.2023 as Ex.P/5-A to Ex.P/5-G. Criminal Appeal No. 506 of 2023 - 3 - Only for viewing purpose. Contact office for certified copy.

5. After completion of prosecution evidence, the appellant/accused was examined under Section 342, Cr.P .C,wherein, he once again denied the prosecution accusation; however, neither he opted to record his statement under Section 340(2), Cr.P .C. nor produced any witness in his defence.

6. After hearing arguments from both sides, the trial Court convicted and sentenced the appellant/accused as mentioned in para supra, hence this appeal.

7. Learned counsel for the appellant inter alia contended that the impugned judgment of the trial Court is outcome of non- reading and misreading of the evidence came on record; that the statements of…

Opening of the judgment. Loading the full judgment on LexPK…