New Delhi: A woman, held guilty of possessing 500 grams heroin, has been sentenced to seven years in jail by a Delhi court which noted that the prosecution succeeded in proving the charges against her despite absence of any public witnesses.
Special NDPS judge M R Sethi held Kusum, a resident of north-west Delhi, guilty under provisions of Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act and sentenced her to seven years rigorous imprisonment.
The court also imposed a fine of Rs 70,000 on her.
"Non joining of public witnesses is not fatal to the search and consequent recovery," the judge said while convicting Kusum.
While referring to a Supreme Court judgement, the court said that "public at large is generally reluctant to come forward to depose before the court, therefore, prosecution case cannot be doubted for non-joining of independent witnesses".
It also said that the woman could not prove that she was falsely implicated by police.
According to the prosecution, on January 11, 2012, a raiding team of Narcotics Cell apprehended Kusum near Rohini here after receiving a tip-off from an informer.
On being searched, Kusum was found with 500 grams of heroin which she had hidden inside her clothes, it said.
During the proceedings, the woman denied the allegations and claimed that she was falsely implicated by police.
