Aizawl: Gauhati High Court has acquitted a Mizoram man convicted in a case involving the alleged seizure of 894.18 grams of heroin, holding that the prosecution failed to establish his conscious possession of the contraband.A single bench of Justice Kaushik Goswami on Sept 1 set aside the conviction and 10-year prison sentence imposed on Lalrosanga by the special court under the NDPS Act in Champhai judicial district.The trial court had convicted Lalrosanga on Oct 18, 2024, and sentenced him to 10 years’ rigorous imprisonment with a fine of Rs 1 lakh. The high court ordered his release unless he was required in connection with another case.“Lalrosanga is accordingly acquitted of the charges. He shall be set at liberty forthwith, if his detention is not required in connection with any other case,” the judge ruled.According to the prosecution, police intercepted a car at the Tuisenphai check gate on April 26, 2023. The vehicle was allegedly being driven by co-accused Joseph Laldingngheta, with Lalrosanga accompanying him.Police claimed to have recovered 80 soap cases containing brown powder suspected to be heroin from the vehicle’s boot. The substance allegedly weighed 894.18 grams. Both men were arrested and booked under Sections 21(c) and 25 of the NDPS Act at Khawzawl police station.Appearing for Lalrosanga, advocate Johny L Tochhawng argued that the search and seizure had not complied with statutory safeguards under the NDPS Act, particularly Section 52A. He also submitted that the prosecution had failed to prove the essential ingredient of conscious possession.The high court found inconsistencies in the prosecution evidence, particularly the testimony of the investigating officer.“This doubt becomes more fortified from the evidence of Prosecution Witness no. 6, the Investigating Officer (IO), who admitted that the seized articles were not present in the vehicle when it crossed the check gate. Thus, the contraband was admittedly not in the vehicle at the stage when it was initially detained,” the bench observed.“The prosecution has led no reliable evidence establishing this crucial intervening circumstance,” the judge said.The court noted that Lalrosanga had denied both the alleged recovery and knowledge of the contraband in his statement recorded under Section 313 of the CrPC.“The prosecution has failed to establish the essential link between the accused/appellant and the contraband. The prosecution cannot rely upon the statutory presumptions without first establishing conscious possession. Nor can the court supply the missing link by inference or conjecture merely because the accused/appellant was allegedly associated with the co-accused or was found in the vicinity of the vehicle,” the judge ruled.He further said, “The prosecution was required to establish the foundational fact of conscious possession beyond reasonable doubt, that being the sine qua non for bringing home the charge under Section 21(c) of the NDPS Act. On the evidence available, that foundational fact remains unproved.”
