The Tripura High Court dismissed the appeal of a truck driver convicted over 89 packets of ganja weighing about 987 kg seized near Churaibari Police Station, upholding his 10-year rigorous imprisonment and Rs 1 lakh fine.[1][2] The Division Bench of Justice Dr. T. Amarnath Goud and Justice Biswajit Palit delivered the decision on 13 October 2026 in Crl.A.(J) No.43 of 2025, Shri Dharjya Kumar Jamatia v. State of Tripura.[1]
Police intercepted a 14-wheeler truck near Churaibari Police Station in Tripura on 6 September 2021 and recovered 89 packets of ganja weighing approximately 987 kg from it.[1][2] He was travelling in the truck as its driver; he was charged under Sections 20(c) and 29 of the NDPS Act after investigation.[1] The Special Judge (NDPS), North Tripura, convicted him under Section 20(b)(ii)(C) of the NDPS Act and sentenced him to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment and a fine of Rs 1 lakh, the sentence the High Court upheld.[1]
The High Court held that not producing the malkhana register, the police store record for seized property, cannot by itself be a ground to discard the prosecution case when nothing casts doubt on the identity, integrity or safe custody of the seized contraband.[1] The Bench relied on independent witnesses who corroborated the police account of the recovery and on a Forensic Science Laboratory report that confirmed ganja in the samples received in properly sealed condition.[1] It also held that non-compliance with Section 57 of the NDPS Act would not vitiate the conviction, since the appellant showed no prejudice from it.[1]