The Jammu and Kashmir High Court said that the statements or witnesses of the police cannot be doubted simply because they are official witnesses of the police. More evidence in defense is needed to raise suspicion on the statements of these witnesses. The Division Bench of Justice Tashi Rabster and Justice Vinod Chatterjee Cole made it clear that just because the prosecution has not presented any citizen or independent person as a witness, it should not be concluded that the prosecution case should be of suspicion. Is under siege and the accused was falsely implicated in the case.
The bench relied on the Supreme Court’s decision in this case, Jarnail Singh v. the State of Punjab (2011) 3 SCC 52.
The bench made this remark in a criminal appeal case against the punishment awarded to the petitioner. In fact, 720 kg of contraband was seized from the petitioner by the police. The Division Bench upheld the conviction of the petitioner under the Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act (NDPS), stating that independent witnesses associated with the appellants during the search and seizure are not aspiring in the prosecution case. The bench further said that even the defense lawyers cannot object to the testimony except that they are official witnesses.
