' M.A. SHAHID SIDDIQUI, J.---Shaukat Ali alias Billa, appellant, has preferred this appeal against judgment dated 17-11-2003 rendered by Mr. Pervez Ali Chowla, Judge Special Court, Control of Narcotic Substances, Lahore in case F.I.R. No,8 of 2000 dated 6-3-2000 registered at Police Station ANF, Lahore. He has been convicted under section 9 of the Control of Narcotic Substances Act, 1997 and sentenced to death. He has also been burdened with a fine of Rs,5,00,000 or in default of payment thereof to suffer simple imprisonment for one year.
2. The prosecution's case was that on 6-3-2000, Qadeer Ahmed Baig, Inspector, ANF, Lahore (P.W.5), Capt.Mian Frooq Aziz, Assistant Director, Muhammad Riaz Somro, Assistant Director, Sobedar Muhammad Iqbal Pervez, Arshad Khan S.-I., Shah Muhammad, Farooq Giyas Shah,Hawaldaran, Fajar Khan, Head Constbale, Haji Abid, Tariq Mehmood, Muhammad Akram, Chan Bedar Muhammad Hanif, Umar Shehzad, Mazhar Hussain, Sepoies, Muhammad Saleem, Mehmood Ahmad, Rashid Mehmood, Muhammad Bakhsh, Constables, Muhammad Ramzan, Muhammad Azam, Muhammad Asif, Mukhtiyar, Mumtaz Hussain, Tariq Shah, drivers, were present at Sialkot Bypass, Gujranwala, under the command of Lt.-Col. Manzar Akbar, Joint Director ANF, Lahore in pursuit of drug peddlers. On the basis of a spy information the said contingent went to Mohalla Salam Colony and raided the house of appellant at 5-00 p.m. The appellant was found standing outside the main entrance, who on seeing the raiding party became perplexed. As pointed out by the informer the appellant was apprehended. He disclosed his name as Shaukat Ali alias Billa. The raiding party searched the house and found 10 plastic bags underneath a bed in the room adjacent to the Bethak. When opened each bag found to have contained 20 packet of Charas.
Weight of each packet was 1 kilogram. In this way each plastic bag contained 20 kilograms of Charas and the total weight of the recovered substance was 200 kilograms. One gram of Charas was separated from each packet and made into 10 sealed parcels for chemical analysis. Qadeer Ahmad Baig, Inspector (P.W.5) prepared a report Exh.PA/1 at 6-30 p.m. On the basis of which formal F.I.R. Exh.PA was drawn by Muhammad Sarwar, A . S. -I. , (P.W.1), at 8-00 p.m.
3. After completion of the investigation Muhammad Afzal, Alam, S.H.O. P.W.4, submitted the challan.
At the commencement of trial the learned trial Court formally charge-sheeted the accused on 7- 2-2001. He pleaded not guilty and claimed trial. The prosecution examined as many as five witnesses in or to bring home the charge against the accused/appellant. Muhammad Bakhsh Durrani, P.W.3, and Qadeer Ahmad Baig, Inspector P.W.5 deposed about the recovery, report Exh.PA/1 and recovery memo. Exh.P.C., Muhammad Afzal Alam, Inspector P.W.4 deposed about the submission of the challan. He also tendered the report of Chemical Examiner dated 13-3-2000, Exh.P.D. According to which all the ten sealed parcels received in the office of Chemical Examiner on 8-3-2000 contained Charas. Muhammad Sarwar, A.S.-I. P.W.1 and Abdul Ghafoor, constable P.
W.2 stated about the retention of samples in the Police Station and their transmission to the office of Chemical Examiner on 8-3-2000.
4. The accused/appellant in his statement under section 342, Cr.P.C. Denied the allegation. In answer to the question as to why he was involved in this case and why the P. Ws. Had deposed against him he maintained as under:- "The informer of ANF was my enemy. He had joined hands with my opponents. I run a 'Smosa' shop in Kasera Bazar, where the informer used to supply the untensils to the shopekeepers. I had placed with him order of two dinner sets for the marriage of my daughter. He came to my house.
' My family members informed me that he had come with dinner sets. I came out of my shop, when I alighted from a Riskhaw, on Sialkot Road, to go to my house, I was apprehended by the ANF people. They blind-folded me, took me to my house and searched my house, but they could not recovered anything from there. I was then brought to the PS. ANF, where I was confined for only one night and on the next date I was sent to Jail. My no remand was obtained by them."
' The appellant declined to appear as a witness in disproof of the charge under section 340(2) of Cr.P.C. Perusal of order sheet shows that the appellant did not avail the opportunity and produced any evidence in his defence. The learned trial Court after going through the entire evidence held the appellant guilty under section 9-C of the Control of Narcotic Substances Act, 1997 and sentenced him to death. Hence this appeal.
5. The learned counsel for appellant while assailing the conviction, inter alia, argued that the place of recovery was not occupied exclusively by the appellant; no other person from the locality was associated during the raid, no search warrant was obtained. It has further been argued that the raiding party before leaving Lahore for Gujranwala had not made any entry in the Roznamcha, which makes the prosecution's case highly doubtful. In alternative the learned counsel for appellant has prayed for lesser punishment on the sole ground that the appellant is first offender.
6. On the other hand the learned counsel for ANF has supported the judgment. He maintained that the raiding party was headed by Lt.-Col. Manzar Akbar, Joint Director, A.N.F. And it consisted of Capt. Mian Farooq Aziz and other responsible Officer of A.N.F., who had absolutely no motive whatsoever, to falsely implicate the appellant. He also prayed for maintaining the capital punishment in view of huge quantity of the narcotic substance and the heinousness of the offence.
7. We have made reappraisal of the entire evidence with the assistance of the learned counsel for parties. Qadeer Ahmad Baig, P.W.5, made detailed statement in accordance with his report Exh.P.A./1. He has been fully supported by Muhammad Bakhsh Durrani, Constable P.W.3. In cross- examination Qadeer Ahmad Baig disclosed that he had recorded the first version of the accused at the spot. He denied the suggestion that the appellant/ accused had pleaded that he had purchased two dinner sets through the informer, who instead of delivering the dinner sets had placed the narcotic substance in his house. The same plea has been partly taken up by the appellant in his statement under section 342, Cr.P.C. The appellant did not produce any evidence in support of his plea. He did not even pickup the courage to appear as a witness in disproof of the charge. The appellant is resident of Gujranwala Town whereas the P.Ws. Were posted at Lahore.
P.W.5 was not even suggested any motive for implicating the appellant falsely. Qadeer Ahmad Baig P.W.5 stated that he had attempted to associate the residents of locality during the raid, but they had declined. The ANF cannot be expected to have planted fake recovery of a huge quantity of narcotic substance against the appellant. The search was made at about 5-00 p.m. After Court hours. The mere fact that no search warrant was obtained before conducting the raid would not render the recovery as illegal. We may safely rely upon the case titled the State through A.-G. Sindh v. Hinjju (2003 SCMR 381) and also the judgment of this Court dated 18-5-2005 in Criminal Appeal No,232 of 2001. The evidence furnished by the P.Ws. Inspires full confidence. The report of the Chemical Examiner Exh.P.D. Shows that the substances recovered from the possession of appellant was Charas. Thus, the case against the appellant stands proved beyond reasonable doubt. We find no reason to take any exception. Keeping in view the huge quantity of Charas recovered from the possession of the appellant and the law laid down in case of Munawar Hussain alias Bobi and 2 others (1993 SCM R 785) we find no reason to take lenient view. Accordingly, this appeal fails and is hereby dismissed.