Srinagar court acquits two in 2022 Budgam narcotics case

A Special Court in Srinagar has acquitted two individuals, Shahnawaz Qadir Ganie and Muhammad Ayoub Sofi, in a 2022 narcotics case registered under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act in Budgam.

Special Judge Vinod Kumar ruled that the prosecution failed to prove beyond reasonable doubt that the accused had conscious and exclusive possession of the alleged contraband. The case involved the reported recovery of 65 grams of charas, 15 bottles of codeine-based medicinal preparations, and ₹1.39 lakh in cash during a search of a house in Hyderpora.

The court identified several critical discrepancies in the prosecution’s evidence. Notably, the Executive Magistrate supervising the search testified that the contraband was recovered from the house rather than from the individuals themselves. Additionally, the court noted that the house was occupied by multiple family members, making it difficult to establish exclusive possession. Other issues included inconsistent witness accounts regarding the weighing of the substances, an unexplained six-day delay in laboratory sampling, and the failure to test 13 of the 15 recovered bottles. Due to these cumulative gaps and the failure to establish an unbroken chain of custody, the court extended the benefit of doubt to the accused.