Holding

The Supreme Court dismissed the appeal, upholding the conviction and sentence, finding that none of the raised objections affected the veracity of the prosecution’s case and that the quantities seized exceeded the statutory ‘small quantity’ limits.

Summary

Durand Didier, a French national, was stopped by police in Goa after accelerating his motorcycle and falling without injury. A search of his bike and attached bag, witnessed by two pancha witnesses, uncovered brown sugar, ganja oil and opium concealed in various items. Samples sent to a chemical analyst confirmed the presence of morphine and a cannabis‑like substance, though one sample was insufficient for further testing. He was convicted under Sections 21, 20(b)(ii) and 18 of the NDPS Act and sentenced to ten years' rigorous imprisonment, a fine of Rs 1,00,000 and a default term, which the High Court modified. On appeal, the Supreme Court held that the lack of injury, the use of pancha witnesses from the same locality, the limited sample sent for analysis, and the analyst’s testimony did not undermine the prosecution’s case; the quantities seized far exceeded the ‘small quantity’ limits under Section 27(a), and the burden of proving personal consumption lay on the appellant. Consequently, the appeal was dismissed and the conviction and sentence upheld.

Issues considered

The appellant fell from his vehicle without visible injury – does this affect the legality of the seizure?
Whether the use of pancha witnesses not resident in the immediate vicinity invalidates the search and seizure.
The impact of sending insufficient quantities of seized material for chemical analysis on the prosecution case.
The admissibility of the chemical analyst’s evidence despite her lack of knowledge of legal classifications.
The relevance of not charging the motorcycle owner or examining the person who lent the vehicle.
Whether the possession falls within ‘small quantity’ for personal consumption under Section 27(a) and the burden of proof thereof.

Legislation cited

Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985s. 18, s. 20, s. 21, s. 27, s. 2(xiv), s. 2(xxii), s. 8
Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Rules, 1985s. II, s. III, s. Schedules I

Subjects

Narcotic DrugsPsychotropic SubstancesPossessionSmall QuantityNDPS ActSearch and SeizurePancha WitnessesBurden of ProofChemical AnalysisForeign National

Judgment

DURAND DIDIER
v. A
CHIEF SECRETARY, UNION TERRITORY OF GOA

AUGUST 29, 1989

[S. NATARAJAN AND S. RATNAVEL PANDIAN, JJ.] B

Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985-Sections
2(xiv), (xxii), 8, 18, 20, 21 and27.

Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Rules, 1985:
; Schedules I, II and IIJ.
) ' Narcotic Drug or psychotropic substance-'Small quantity'-
c
What is-'For personal consumption'-Burden of proof-On whom.

Contrabands-Seizure-Omission to send samples in sufficient
quantity for analysis-Effect of. D

Evidence-Difference between the narcotic drugs and
substances-Chemical Analyst's evidence-Value of.

Search and seizure-Seizure of contrabands-Pancha witnesses
residing in the same area but not in vicinity of the seizure-Admissibility E
and value of evidence . .

The appellant is a foreign national. At Colva, on seeing a police
party on patrol he accelerated the speed of his motor cycle ignoring the
signal given by Assistant Sub-Inspector of Police (P. W. 7) and in that
process lost control over the vehicle and fell down. Thereafter he F
immediately stood up and removed a paper wrapping from his pant
pocket and threw it away which on verification was found to contain a
small quantity of brown sugar. The appellant was taken to the nearby
police post along with the motor-cycle. A hand bag attached to the
motor-cycle was opened and examined in the presence of two pancha
witnesses and it was found that there was brown sugar hidden in the G
,Camera case, Ganja oil in the steel container, and opium in the shaving
cream tube, torch light and shoe. All the substances were weighed and
seized under a. panchnama and sample of these contrabands divided
into three categories were sent to Chemical Analyst (PW. 6) who found
that one sample contained 16.8% w/w of Morphine (an alkaloid
extracted from opium), and the other sample contained a dark brown H
1025

-4:
1026 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [1989] 3 S.C.R.

sticky substance having odour similar to that of extract of cannabis. ~
A
The quantity of the substance namely a dark brown soft mass having
characteristic colour of opium found in the third sample was not sum-
cient to carry out further analysis. jl

B
The appellant was consequently prosecuted for possession of pro-
hibited drugs under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances
Act, 1985. The Sessions Judge convicted him under Sections 21,
~ •
20(b)(ii) and 18 of the Act and imposed a sentence of 10 years rigorous

.. -
imprisonment and a fine of Rs.1,00,000 and in default to undergo rigo-
rous imprisonment for one year. The High Court dismissed the appeal
of the appellant and confirmed the sentence passed by the Trial Court
but modified the default sentence from one year to six months.
c -(
In this appeal challenging the correctness of the conviction it was
contended on behalf of the appellant that: (i) in the absence of any
injury on the person of the appellant, the case of the prosecution that
the appellant fell down from his vehicle is hardly acceptable (ii) the
•
D pancha witnesses were not the respectable inhabitants of the locality
therefore the seizure of the contrabands was in violation of the provi-
sions relating to search and seizure; (iii) the omission to send sufficient
representative quantity of the contrabands for analysis affected the
veracity of the prosecution case; (iv) the omission to include the owner
of the motor-cycle (PW-5) as an accused and the non-examination of the
>
E person at whose instance the vehicle was lent to the appellant affected
the prosecution case; and (v) since the appellant was in possession of ,?iit°'
these drugs or substnces in a small quantity for his personal consump-
tion he was liable to be punished only under section 27(a) of the Act.
...
"""
Dismissing the appeal, ·f-
F
HELD: 1. If a person is thrown off or falls from a speeding
vehicle he may sustain injuries either serious or simple or escape some-
times unhurt but it depends on the speed of the vehicle, the manner of
fall, the nature of the soil and the surface of the earth etc. In the instant
case, the evidence and other connected facts lead to the inference that
G the appellant had fallen down immediately after he attempted to speed
up the vehicle and was caught hold of by the police. Therefore it is right
that the appellant was caught by the police under the circumstances
as put forth by the prosecution and the appellant however escaped
unhurt. [1031H; 1032A-D]
·"
H 2. If pancha witnesses are not respectables of the same locality
DURAND DIDIER v. CHIEF SECY. 1027

but from another locality, it may amount only to an irregularity, not A
affecting the legality of the proceedings and that it is a matter for
Courts of fact to consider and the Supreme Court would not ordhtarily
go behind the finding of facts concurrently arrived at by the Court•
below. I 1032G-H; 1033A-B]
B
Sunder Singh v. State of V.P., [1956] Cr. L.J. 801; Tej Bahadur
v. State of UP., [1970] 3 S.C.C. 779 and State of Punjab v. Wasson
Singh and Ors., [1981] 2 S.C.R. 615; applied.
____ ,

2.1 In the instant case, the appellant was secured in the midnight
I'" near the Police Out Post. It is indisputably shown that the pancha
witnesses are not outsiders but are residents of the same area where the c
r Police Out Post is situated. The fact that these two witnesses are not
residing in the vicinity of the seizure, does not disturb the accep-
tance of the evidence relating to the seizure of the contrabands and
other articles. Except making some bare suggestions that both the
witnesses were regular and professional witnesses, nothing tangible
has been brought out in the cross-examination to discredit the D
testimony. [1033C-E]

... 3. In the instant case, the omission to send sufficient quantity of
' samples of c~ntrabands for analysis does not affect the intrinsic veracity
of the prosecution case. The testimony of the Chemical Analyst and her
opinion recorded in the unimpeachable document lend assurance to the E
case of the prosecution that the contrabands seized from the possession
of the appellant were prohibited drugs and substances. [1033F-H]

4. The Medical Officer is not expected to know the differences in
·1 the legal parlance as defined in section 2(xiv) and (xxii) and specified
under Schedules I to III of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Subs- F
tances Rules 1985 made under the Act. Therefore, the admission of the
Chemical Analyst that she does not know the difference between the
narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances by itself is no ground for
ruling ollt her evidence. [1034A-B]

5. There is absolutely no material to hold that the owner of the G
motor-cycle was in any way connected with the seizure of the con-
trabands or he has committed any indictable offence though the vehicle
belonged to him. The non-examination of the person at whose instance
the owner lent his motor-cycle to the appellant does not in any way
affect the prosecution case. [1034C-D]
H
1028 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [1989] 3 S.C.R.

6. Section 27(a) of the Act provides punishment for illegal posses-
A sion in small quantity for personal consumption of any narcotic drug or
psychotropic substance. The expression 'small quantity' occuring in
that section is explained under Explanation I thereof as such quantity as
may be specified by the Central Government by Notification in the
Official Gazette. [I035A-B]
B
In the instant case, the penal provisions of section 27(a) has no
role to play as the prohibited drugs and substances possessed by the
appellant were far in excess of the quantity mentioned in Column 3 of
the table under the relevant Notification. [I036D I

Even if a person is shown to have been in possession of a small
c quantity of a narcotic drug or psychotropic substance, the burden of
proving that it '-as intended for the personal consumption of such
person, and not for sale or distribution, lies on such person as per
Explanation 2 of Section 27 of the Act. [l036E]

D The very fact that the appellant in the instant case had kept these
drugs and substances in many ingeniously devised places of conceal-
ment in the camera, shaving tube, torch and shoes would indicate that
the appellant was having full knowledge that the drugs he carried were ~·
prohibited drugs and that he was having them in violation of law. '
Therefore, the sentence of IO years rigorous imprisonment and the fine
E of Rs.I,00,000 with the default dause as modified by the High Court
does not call for interference. [l036F; l037D)

CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTION: Criminal Appeal
No. 533 of 1989.

F From the Judgment and Order dated 31.8.88 of the Bombay
High Court in Criminal Appeal No. 24 of 1988.

Govind Mukhoty and V .B. Joshi for the Appellant.

Anil Dev Singh, C.K. Sucharita and Ms. A. Subhashini for the
(, Respondent.

The following order of the Court was delivered
"""
Special leave granted.

H The appellant who is a French national has preferred this appeal
DURAND DIDIER v. CHIEF SECY. 1029

~: under Article 136 of the Constitution of India canvassing the cor-
rectness of his conviction under Sections 21, 20(b)(ii) and 18 of the A
Narcotic· Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 (for brevity
hereinafter referred to as the 'Act') and the sentence of 10 years rigo-
rous imprisonment in addition to pay a fine of Rs.1,00,000 in default to
undergo rigorous imprisonment for one year inflicted by the Court of
'I Sessions Judge, South Goa, Margao and confirmed by the High Court B
of Bombay, Panaji Bench (Goa) with a modification of the default
sentence from one year to six months on the indictment that the appel-
lant on 7. 12.87 at about 0.40 hours at Colva was found in possession of
prohibited drugs/namely 51 gms. of brown sugar, 45 gms. of ganja oil
t" and 55 gms. of opium all worth approximately Rs.13,465 without valid
documents.
t c
Adumberated in brief, the relevant facts of the prosecution case
giving rise to this appeal are as follows.

On 6th December, 1987 at about 11.00 p.m. the Assistant Sub-
Inspector of Police, Shri Laxman Mahalsekar (PW-7) while along with D
his police party was on his patrol duty at the 3rd ward of Colva, saw the
appellant speeding up his motor-cycle, bearing Registration No. GDK
851 ignoring his signal to stop. The appellant in such attempt, presum-
'{ ably to escape from being nabbed by the police lost control over the
vehicle and fell down. No sooner he stood up and removed a paper
wrapping from his pant pocket and threw it away. PW-7 on entertain- E
ing suspicion over the conduct of the appellant verified that wrapping
to contain small quantity of brown sugar and then he took the appel-
lant along with his motor-cycle to the nearby Police Out Post. A hand-
bag, bluish in colour with red strips had been attached to the motor-
i cycle. When the said bag was opened with a key handed over by the
appellant and examined in the presence of two pancha witnesses, F
namely Francis Xavier D'Silva (PW 1) and one Connie D'Silva (not
examined), it was found to contain some personal belongings such as
wearing apparels, a pair of shoes and a canvas bag. Inside the bag,
there was one shaving cream tube, one camera, a torch and four plastic
rolls. There was also one plastic bag containing contraceptives. The
torch was found to contain two bundles of plastic material each one G
containing a small piece of b.lackish substance. Inside the cream tube,
J-. four bundles wrapped in a plastic material were found. Each of the
bundle contained small pieces of blackish substance. There was also
one more bundle of plastic material concealed in the shoes which when
opened was found to contain small piece of blackish substance similar
to the one found in the torch as well in the shaving cream tube. The H
1030 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [1989] 3 S.C.R.

camera was found in a box in which there were five packets of plastic ~
A
material with some powder of yellowish colour i.e. brown sugar.
According to PW-7, there were 50 gms. of brown sugar hidden in the
camera case, 45 gms. of Ganja oil in the steel container and 55 gms. of
opium in the shaving cream tube, torch light and shoes. All the mate-
rials were weighed and seized under a panchnama (Ex. P. l) attested
B by PW 1 and Connie D'Silva. The appellant was arrested and kept 'r
under medical treatment and observation. Samples of these articles
were sent to Chemical Analyst (PW-6) who has deposed that she
received three envelopes Ex. 1 to 3. According to her, the envelope
marked Ex. 1 contained 1.57 gms. of substance which on analysis was
found to contain 16.8% w/w of Morphine (which is an alkaloid ex-
...,, -
tracted from opium i.e. conversion of opium). The quantity of the sub-
c stance namely a dark brown soft mass having characteristic colour of 1
opium found in the envelope Ex. 2, weighing 2.45 gms. was not suffi-
cient to carry out further analysis. The substance in envelope Ex. 3
weighing 2.97 gms. on analysis was found to contain a dark brown
sticky substance having odour similar to that of extract of cannabis.
D PW-6 gave her report (Ex. P-3) dated 8.2.88. PW-7, after receiving
Ex. P-3 and completing the investigation charge-sheeted the accused
under the provisions of the Act on the ground that the appellant was in
possession of prohibited drugs without a valid licence or permit. or
authorisation in violation of Section 8 punishable under the penal }
provisions of the Act.
E
The defence of the appellant is one of total denial. As pointed
out in the earlier part of this judgment both the Trial Court and the
Appellate Court have concurrently found the accused guilty.

Mr. Govind Mukhoty, learned senior advocate appearing on ·~
F . behalf of the appellant directed a manifold scathing attack on the
prosecution case raising the following contentions:

1. The absence of any visible injury on the person of the appel-
!ant while apprehended belies the prosecution version that
the appellant had fallen down from the vehicle on accelerat-
G ing the speed;

2. The fact that the Investigating Officer did not deliberately ~
join with him respective inhabitants of the locality i.e. within
the vicinity of the Police Out Post to witness the seizure but
had taken pain to secure I;'W-1 and Connie D'Silva who were
H residing far away from the place of seizure and who seem to
DURAND DIDIER v. CHIEF SECY. 1031

have been readily willing and obliging to be pancha witnesses
A
devalues the evidence regarding the seizure of the contra-
bands and more so it is in violation of the salutary provisions
of law prescribing the procedure to be followed before mak-
ing the search and seizure;

3. PW-7 sent only three samples from the alleged seized B
substances~that too in small quantity instead of sending suf-
ficient representative quantity from each of the packets seized
.. for assay. Therefore, in the absence of scientific test of all the
substances found in each of the packets, no safe conclusion
can be arrived that the entire substances seized under various
packets were ail prohibited drugs;
c
4. The adrilissioh of PW-6 in her evidence that she does not
kriow ·lhe difference between the narcotic drugs and psycho-
tropic substances militates against the evidentiary value of her
opinion under Exh. P-3.
D
5. The non-inclusion of PW-5, the owner of the motor-cycle as
an accused and the non-examination of Cavin at whose ins-
~ lance PW-5 lent the vehide are fatal to the prosecution case;

6. Even assuining but not conceding that the prosecution version
is acceptable in the absence of any evidence that the appellant E
was carrying on with the nefarious trade of prohibited drugs
either as a 'peddler' or 'pusher', the appellant would be liable
to be punished within the mischief of Section 27(a) of the Act,
since the attending circumsiances present in this case indicate
that the appellant was in possession of the drugs in small
quantity only for his personal consumption. F

We shall now examine the contentioµs seriatim with reference to
the evidence available on record.

There is no denying the fact that the appellant :rnd '1een taken
into police custody on the early hours of 7 .12.87 by PW-7 along wilh the G
motor-cycle involved in this case. The submission of Mr. Mukhoty is
that in the absence of any injury on the person of the appellant, the
case of the prosecution that the appellant fell down from his vehicle is
hardly acceptable. No doubt if a person is thrown off or falls down
from a speeding vehicle he may sustain injuries either serious or simple
or escape sometimes unhurt but it depends Oil the speed of the H
1032 SUPREME COURT REPORTS (1989) 3 S.C.R.

vehicle, the manner of fall, the nature of the soil and the surface of the ~
A
earth etc. In the present case, evidence of PWs 4 and 7 is that the
appellant on seeing the police party accelerated the speed ignoring the
signal given by PW-7 to stop and it was only during the course of this
attempt, the appellant fell down from the motor-cycle at a place where
the street lights i.e. the fluorescent tube lights and bulbs were on and
B thereafter immediately stood up. The evidence on these two witnesses >-
and the other connected facts lead to the inference that the appellant
had fallen down immediately after he attempted to speed up the
vehicle and was caught hold of by the police. It is not the case of the
prosecution that the appellant sped away to some distance and then
had fallen down from the speeding vehicle. PW-3, the Medical Officer •1
attached to Hospicio Hospital speaks to the fact that when she
c examined the appellant on 8.12.87 at about 8.00 p.m., the appellant i
complained of bodyache, nosia etc. but PW-3 does not whisper .of
having seen any visible injury on the person of the appellant. After
carefully scanning the evidence of PWs 4 and 7 coupled with the reco•
very of the articles Nos 1 to 14, we unhesitatingly hold that the appel-
D !ant was caught by the police under the circumstances as put forth by
the prosecution and the appellant however escaped unhurt. Hence in
the light of the above evidence, we are constrained to hold that this
submission made by the learned defence counsel does not merit
consideration. >
E After the appellant was secured by the police, PW-7 directed
PW-4 to bring two pancha witnesses. Accordingly, PW-4 brought two
witnesses from a place which is according to PW-7 is within a distance
of 1 KM and .according to PW-5 at five minutes walking distance.
Much argument was advanced by the learned defence counsel that
these two witnesses were not the respectable inhabitants of that loca- ~·
F lily; that they were readily willing and obliging witnesses to the police
and that there is deliberate violation of the statutory safeguard. This
argument cannot be endured for more than one reason to be presently
stated. The appellant was secured in the midnight near the police out
post. It clearly transpires from the records that these two witnesses are
not outsiders but residents of the same area, namely Colva. Except
G making some bare suggestions that both the witnesses were regular
and professional witnesses, nothing tangible has been brought out in
the cross"examination to discredit the testimony of PW-1. This Court,
while considering a similar contention in Sunder Singh v. State of U. P.,
[ 1956) Cr!. Law Journal 801 and Tej Bahadur v. State of U.P., [1970] 3
"
sec 779 has observed that if pancha witnesses are not respectables of
H the same locality but from another iocality, it may amount only to an
DURAND DIDIER v. CHIEF SECY. 1033
)._ irregularity, not affecting the legality of the proceedings and that it is a
matter for Courts of fact to consider and the Supreme Court would not A
ordinarily go behind the finding of facts concurrently arrived at by the
Courts below.

See also State of Punjab v. Wasson Singh and Five Others, [1981)
·'{ 2 SCR 615. B

When such is the view, expressed by this Court on a number of
•. occasions, we are unable to appreciate the submission of the learned
counsel that the prosecution case is in violent disregard of the proce-
r dure relating td search arid seizure. the question that PW-1 and other
jlantha witnesses are not the inhabitants of the locality does not arise
in ihe present case because it is indisputably shown that they are the c
! resitletils df !lie sanie Ccil\la area whete the Police Out Post is situated.
The fact tliat these two withesses are hot residing in the vicinity of the
seizure; in ouf vil!w; tlbes not disturb the acceptance of the evidence of
PW,1 relaiing Id the seizure of the contrabands and other articles.
With regard to the drawing lip of the pahchnama, the defence has D
come forward with two diam@ltlcally contradittoty suggestions in that,
the suggestion made to PW' i is that he only subscribed his signatures
on some papers wililst a ile\V story, suggested to PW-7 is that the
~ panchanama was fallticated around the 5th of January 1988 in order to
save one Ramesh, brother of PW-5 from being prosecuted in connec-
rion with this seizure. To establish the seizure of all the articles includ- E
ing the contrabands, the prosecution rests its case not only on the
• testimony of PW-1 but also on the evidence of PWs 5 and 7 whose
evidence is amply corroborated by the towering circumstances attend-
ing the case .
... From the records, it is found that PW-7 divided the contrabands F
into three categories and sent the samples from each of the categories
for analysis. No doubt, it would have been appreciable, had PW-7 sent
sufficient representative quantity from each of the packets but how-
ever this omission in the present case does not affect the intrinsic
veracity of the prosecution case. PW-6 has fairly stated that she was
able to thoroughly assay only the substances found in two envelopes G
marked as Ex. P-1 and P-3 and the substances in envelop Ex. P-2 was
,,;.... not sufficient to carry out further analysis though it was a dark brown
soft mass having characteristic of odour of opium. The testimony of
PW-6 and her opinion recorded in the unimpeachable document
(Ex. P-3) lend assurance to the case of the prosecution that the con-
trabands seized from the possession of the appellant wen: ;irohibited H
drugs and substances.
1034 SUPREME COURT REPORTS (1989] 3 S.C.R.

The criticism levelled by the learned defence counsel is that the ,..\_
A
evidence of PW-6 is not worthy of acceptance since she has admitted
that she does not know the difference between the narcotic drugs and
psychotropic substances. This attack, in our view, does not assume any
significance because as rightly pointed out by Mr. Anil Dev Singh, the
learned senior advocate for the respondent, the Medical Officer is not
B ' to know the differences in the legal parlance as defined in
expected ~
Section 2(xiv) and (xxii) and specified under Schedules 1 to III in
accordance with the concerned Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Sub-
stances Rules, 1985 made under the Act and so this ground by itself, in
our view, is no ground for ruling out the evidence of PW-6.
~
·-
Yet another attack by the defence that the omission on the part
c of the prosecution to include PW-5 as an accused and to examine i
Cavin as a witness has to be mentioned simply to be rejected as devoid
of any merit, as there is absolutely no material to hold that PW-5 was
in any way connected with the seizure of the contrabands or he has
committed any indictable offence though the vehicle belonged to him.
D The non-examination of Cavin at whose instance PW-5 lent his motor-
cycle to the appellant does not in any way affect the prosecution case.

For the discussions made above, we see no force in the conten-
tions l to 5. ~·

E Lastly, we have to consider the legal submission made by Mr.
Mukhoty that the appellant was in possession of these drugs or sub-
stances in a small quantity for his personal consumption and as such he
would be punishable only under Section 27(a) of the Act providing
imprisonment for a term which may extend to one year or with fine or
with both. He further pleaded that the appellant is neither an
F 'uncrowned king of the mafia world' nor a 'peddler' nor a 'pusher';
that he being a foreigner by prolonged and continuous use of drugs has
become a drug-dependent and that he had all symptoms of an addict
'
and exhibited sufferance of withdrawal symptoms on discontinuing the
drug which, it seems, he was taking on his own as borne out from the
testimony of the Medical Officers (PWs 2 and 3) under whose observa-
G tion the appellant has been kept for some days. Incidentally, he has
added that though ignorance of law is not an excuse and it cannot be
permitted to be pleaded, yet this Court may take note of the fact that
the appellant who is a foreigner should have been lacking awareness of
the stringent provisions of the Act.
·---·

H Firstly, let us examine whether the offence would fall within the
DURAND DIDIER v. CHIEF SECY. 1035

mischief of Section 27(a) of the Act. This section provides punishment A
for illegal possession in small quantity for personal consumption of any
narcotic drug or psychotropic substanc~. The expression 'small'
quantity' occuring in that section is explained under Explanation I
annexed to that Section which reads thus:
B
"For the purposes of this section 'small quantity' means
such quantity as may be specified by the Central Govern-
ment by notification in the Official Gazette."

·~·
In compliance with this explanation, the Ministry of Finance
(Department of Revenue) has issued notifictation No. S.O. 827(E) c
dated November 14, 1985 published in the Gazette of India, Extra.,
Part II Section 3(ii) dated 14th November 1985 which notification
reads thus:

"In exercise of the powers conferred by Explanation (1) of D
Section 27 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Sub-
stances Act, 1985 (61 of 1985) and in partial modification of
the notification of the Government of India in the Ministry
of Finance, Department of Revenue No.S.O. 825(E),
dated the 14th November 1985 the Central Government
hereby specifies the quantity mentioned in Column 3 of the E
Table below, in relation to the narcotic drug mentioned in
the corresponding entry in column (2) of the said Table, as
'small quantity' for the purposes of that section.

TABLE
~
F
Serial No. Name of the Narcotic Drug Quantity

1 2 3
'
1. Heroin or drug commonly - 250 milligrams
G
known as Brown Sugar or

" smack
H
1036 SUPREMl;i COURT REPORTS [1989] 3 S.C.R.
,4..
2. Hashish or Charas - 5grams
A
'~. Opium - 5grams

4. Cocaine - 125 miligrams ,lo.;

~
B 5. Ganja - 500grams I
~
~

Coming to the case on hand, the appellant was found io be in
possession of the narcotic drugs or substances far in excess of the
'I
-
quantity mentioned in column 3 of the table under the notification.
According to the prosecution, he was in possession of 51 grams of
c brown sugar, 45 grams of Ganja oil and 55 grams of opium. ~

In view of the above position, it cannot be contended that the
prohibited drugs and substances seized from the appellant's possession
were in small quantity so as to bring him only within the mischief of
D Section 27(a) of the Act.

It may not be out of place to mention that even if a person is
shown to have been in possession of a small quantity of a narcotic drug
or psychotropic substance, the burden of proving that it was intended t-
for the personal consumption of such person and not for sale or dis-
E tribution, lies on such person as per Explanation 2 of Section 27 of the
Act.
....
Thirdly, the very fact that the appellant had kept these drugs and
substances in many ingeniously devised places of concealment in the
camera, shaving tube, torch and shoes would indicate that the appel- t
F !ant was having fuii knowledge that the drugs he carried were pro-
hibited drugs and that he was having them in violation of law.

We, for the above reasons, see no merit in this contention also.

The Trial Court while inflicting the punishment has expressed its
G view about the drug menace spreading in Goa as follows:

"The spreading of the drugs in Goa is becoming day by day
a terrible menace which is completely destroying the very
""
fibre of our society being also instrumental in subverting
the tender soul of our young generation which is being
H badly contaminated by such danger in a very alarming
·' DURAND DIDIER v. CHIEF SECY. 1037
~

). provisions calling for severe punishment in case of illegal A
possession and transportation of drugs meant for personal
consumption and eventual trade."

With deep concern, we may point out that the organised

• -1' activities of the underworld and. the clandestine smuggling of narcotic
drugs and pyschotropic substances into this country and illegal traffick-
ing in such drugs and substances have led to drug addiction among a
B

sizeable section of the public, particularly the adolescents and students
of both sexes and the menace has assumed serious and alarming pro-
i:R.;...
,, portions in the recent years. Therefore,:in order to effectively control
and eradicate this proliferating and pooming devastating menace,
causing deleterious effects and deadly impact on the society as a c
)- whole, the Nrliament in its wisdom, has made effective provisions by
introducing this Act 81 of 1985 specifying mandatory minimum im-
prisonment and fine. As we have now rejected the plea of the defence
holding that the penal provisi'?ns of Section 27(a) has no role to play as
the prohibited drugs and substan,ces possessed by the appellant were
far.in excess of the quantity mentioned in Column 3 of the table under D
the notification, the sentence of 10 years rigorous imprisonment and
the fine of Rs. 1,00,000 with the default clause as modified by the High
Court does not call for interference.
-~
lh the result, the appeal is dismissed.
E
T.N.A. Appeal dismissed .
....