In Brief
The Union of India appealed against the High Court's acquittal of Leen Martin in a narcotics case. The respondent was arrested at Mumbai airport with 12.03 kg of hashish in his suitcase. The trial court convicted him under the NDPS Act, but the High Court acquitted him, finding that the prosecution failed to prove the presence of panch witnesses during the seizure and relied solely on the respondent's statement made under Section 67 of the NDPS Act. The Supreme Court upheld the acquittal, holding that exclusive reliance on a coercive custodial statement without corroborating evidence is unsafe, and the absence of genuine panch participation undermined the seizure's credibility.
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