Court acquits man of charge of possessing 11 kg ganja

A man has been acquitted of the charge of possessing 11 kgs of a contraband by a Delhi court which said there were contradictions in the testimonies of the prosecution witnesses.
Special NDPS judge Anuradha Shukla Bhardwaj freed Bihar native Uttam Kumar Singh for the offences punishable under the Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act for possessing and transporting large quantity of ganja.
"The prosecution has not been able to prove its case beyond reasonable doubts. Accordingly, the accused is acquitted of the charges framed against him," the court said.
It said there were material contradictions in statements of prosecution witnesses.

It also held that the courts have to be extremely cautious and careful in adjudicating the cases pertaining to the NDPS Act.
"The court has to be extra careful in reading the testimony of the witnesses in cases of the NDPS Act as has been laid down by the Supreme Court and consequently, the contradictions become important, which lead to a doubt in the story of the prosecution regarding the receiving of secret information, arrest of the accused, recovery of specified quantity and the proceedings that followed," the court said.
According to the prosecution, Uttam was arrested on January 1, 2012 near a bus stand at Delhi-Noida Road when he was found possessing and transporting 11 kgs of ganja in an autorickshaw which was in contravention of the provisions of the NDPS Act.

During the trial, Uttam claimed to be innocent and said he was falsely implicated in the case.