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TMI Blog2020 (9) TMI 421X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... Thereafter only on 27.04.2018, in the presence of two independent witnesses, the officer in-charge taken the parcel for examination and found two pink polythene bags containing khat leaves weighing 7.9 kg, addressed to the petitioner herein. Therefore, the commission of the offence had taken place on 27.04.2018 as such, on the date of commission of offence, the contraband called khat leaves were included as psychotropic substances and the same was notified by the Government of India, Ministry of Finance vide notification No.S.O.821(E), dated 27.02.2018. Reliance was placed in the case of CHIRAG HASMUKHRAI BHOJANI 1 VERSUS STATE OF GUJARAT 1 [ 2018 (5) TMI 2018 - GUJARAT HIGH COURT] where it was held that on the date of commission o ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ackage weighing 7.9 Kgs of Khat Leaves, a stimulant containing Catha Edulis. The said package contains the name of the petitioner and his cousin has booked the same and sent to him. The alleged package reached the shores of Chennai on 05.03.2018. On examination of the package, the respondent found it was to be Cathua Edulis. Hence the impugned proceedings have been initiated as against the petitioner under the NDPS Act and also r/w Customs Act. 2.1. The learned counsel appearing for the petitioner further submitted that the Khat Leaves were neither a narcotic drag nor psychotropic substance under the NDPS Act. It came to be included in the list of psychotropic substances under the NDPS Act, by virtue of a notification No.S.O.821(E) dat ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... nt Intelligence Unit for further investigation. Thereafter, on 27.04.2018, in the presence of two independent witnesses, the officers concerned taken up the above parcel for examination and found that the parcel contains dried leaves green in colour in two pink polythene bags weighing 7.9 kg in total. Therefore, the complaint is lodged as against the petitioner for the offences under Sections 8(C) r/w Sections 22, 23, 28 of NDPS Act r/w Sections 135 and 135(1)(a) of the Customs Act, 1962. 3.1. The ground raised by the learned counsel appearing for the petitioner cannot be applied in the case on hand, since the parcel sent by the cousin of the petitioner from Kenya was examined only on 12.03.2018 and found to be a narcotic drug. Thereafte ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... Hon'ble Gujarat High Court passed in Criminal Misc. Application No.28230 of 2018 , in the case of Chirag Hasmukhrai Bhojani anr Vs. State of Gujarat, dated 09.05.2018 . The relevant portion of the said judgment is extracted hereunder as follows :- 4 The principal argument of Mr. Mehta, the learned senior counsel appearing with Ms. Patel, the learned counsel for the applicants is that when the prosecution came to be instituted against the applicants, the plant Khat was neither a narcotic drug nor psychotropic substance. It is submitted that Catha Edulis came to be included in the list of psychotropic substances under the Act, 1985 by virtue of a Notification No.S.0.821(E) dated 27th February 2018. It appears that an applicat ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... essions Case No.4 of 2017 pending in the Court of the Principal Sessions Judge, Ahmedabad are hereby quashed. All consequential proceedings pursuant thereto stand terminated. Rule is made absolute. Direct service is permitted. In the above case cited by the learned counsel appearing for the petitioner, on the date of commission of the offence, the contraband called khat leaves were not included as psychotropic substances. It is notified only on 27.02.2018 and the khat leaves came to be included under NDPS Act after the notification. 6. In the case on hand, the package was reached the shores of Mumbai on 03.03.2018 and thereafter it reached the Foreign Post Office, Meenambakkam, Chennai on 05.03.2018. Thereafter, on 12.03.2018, the p ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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