Special Judge Parvaiz Iqbal Holds Prosecution Proved Conscious Possession Beyond Reasonable Doubt; Flags Failure to Trace Source and Destination of Contraband
Jammu, July 16: In a significant judgment in a high-profile narcotics case, the Court of the Special Judge (NDPS Cases), Jammu, Parvaiz Iqbal, on Wednesday convicted Syed Tasadaq Hussain, a resident of Bijhama, Boniyar in Baramulla district, for possessing and transporting 790 kilograms of poppy straw (bhukki) in violation of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act. State v. Tasadaq Hussain.
According to the judgment, the case arose from FIR No. 82/2019 registered at Police Station Bagh-e-Bahu after police, acting on specific intelligence on October 11, 2019, intercepted a truck bearing registration number JK05B-7138 near Environmental Park on the Jammu bypass. During a thorough search, officers recovered 32 sacks containing 790 kilograms of poppy straw, concealed beneath stones and clay. Samples were drawn in the presence of an Executive Magistrate and later confirmed by the Forensic Science Laboratory to contain morphine and poppy straw. State v. Tasadaq Hussain.
After evaluating the evidence of prosecution witnesses, forensic reports and documentary records, the court held that the prosecution had successfully established the accused’s conscious possession of a commercial quantity of narcotic substance. The court observed that the mandatory requirements under the NDPS Act had substantially been complied with and that the accused failed to rebut the statutory presumptions available to the prosecution under Sections 35 and 54 of the NDPS Act. State v. Tasadaq Hussain.
In his detailed judgment, Special Judge Parvaiz Iqbal ruled that there were no material contradictions or procedural defects sufficient to discredit the prosecution’s case. The court concluded that the evidence clearly established the guilt of the accused beyond reasonable doubt and accordingly convicted Syed Tasadaq Hussain under Sections 8 and 15(c) of the NDPS Act for illegally transporting a commercial quantity of poppy straw. State v. Tasadaq Hussain.
The court, however, expressed serious concern over the investigation’s failure to identify the supplier of the massive narcotics consignment and its intended destination or receiver. Justice Parvaiz Iqbal observed that merely apprehending carriers while leaving the masterminds and drug networks untouched would continue to strengthen organised drug trafficking and worsen the narcotics menace. The judgment stressed the need for investigators to pursue both the backward and forward links of such trafficking operations to dismantle the larger drug syndicates. State v. Tasadaq Hussain.
The court has directed that the matter be listed separately for hearing on the quantum of sentence, while the convict remains in judicial custody. A copy of the judgment has also been ordered to be supplied to the convict free of cost. State v. Tasadaq Hussain.(KNC)
