In Brief
The appellants were convicted under the NDPS Act, 1985 for possession of 3 kg charas (hashish) following a traffic check. They claimed an unknown third person gave them a lift carrying the contraband, which vanished when stopped by police. The trial court acquitted them partly on grounds that the investigating officer was also the complainant, creating bias, and independent witnesses were not examined. The High Court reversed the acquittal. The Supreme Court dismissed the appeal, holding that while bias by a complainant-investigator must be demonstrated, the appellants' defence version was facially fanciful and unsupported. Non-examination of independent witnesses does not automatically warrant acquittal when official witness testimony is credible. The High Court properly reversed based on the trial court's legal errors in applying the burden of proof."
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