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2. The present appellant was sought to be prosecuted in case FIR No. 122 dated 25.10.1995 by the police of police station Bhilkhiwind for having been found in possession of 30 injections of morphine, one vial and one syringe.

3. The case set out in the FIR is that SI Resham Singh along with his companion officials was present near Bus Stand Patti in connection with patrol duty, when a secret information is said to have been received that Pargat Singh appellant, who is running a shop near Gurdwara on Patti road, used to administer injections of morphine to young boys and drug addicts. It was further told that the appellant had gone to village Kaleke for administering injections to the addicts and in case naka is laid, a large number of morphine injections could be recovered from him. Accordingly SI Resham Singh laid a naka. After some time a person was found coming with one plastic envelope in his hand. While he was waiting for a bus on the road, he was apprehended on suspicion. On enquiry he disclosed his name as Pargat Singh. The Investigating Officer offered him to get his personal search conducted in the presence of a gazetted officer or a Magistrate. The appellant opted to be searched in the presence of DSP. Accordingly, SI Resham Singh sent wireless message to DSP Ashok Kumar, who reached the spot at about 3-00 pm. Thereafter search of the appellant was conducted and from the plastic bag, 30 injections of morphine, one vial (in which morphine injections had been injected with syringe) were recovered and the same were taken into possession. After recording the proceedings, the same were sent to the police station, on the basis oPf which the present FIR was registered.

Parcel No. 1 was found to contain one vial label as Vitamin B- Complex, which contained 23 ml of yellow coloured liquid.

Parcel No. 2 was found to contain 30 unlabelled injections (ampoule). Each ampoule contained 2 ml of colourless liquid.

7. As per the identification and tests the report is as follows:

Morphine : Present Sulphate ion : Present Quantity of Morphine Sulphate : 14.80 mg per ml.

Morphine : Present in each injection Sulphate ion : Present in each injection Quantity of Morphine Sulphate : 19 mg per ml. (average)

13. In Jefferson v. State 1926 OK CR, it has been held that the Court will take judicial knowledge that morphine is a derivative of opium and that morphine sulphate is a subdivision of morphine. A charge of the sale of morphine, a derivative of opium, is sustained by proof of the sale of morphine sulphate.

14. Therefore, relevant portion from case of Jefferson supra is cited below:

This Court takes judicial notice that morphine is a derivative of opium, and that the two forms in which it comes are morphine hydrochloride and morphine sulphate; that morphine hydrochloride is a chemical combination of morphine and hydrochloric acid, and morphine sulphate is chemical combination of sulphuric acid and morphine.

15. During course of arguments, this Court expressed its reservation regarding law laid in Sewak Singh v. State of Punjab 1998 (4) RCR (Criminal) 832 and had adjourned the matter to do further research. After the research, counsel was confronted with the material gathered and thereafter another adjournment was sought by the counsel. The counsel has been fair and has reverted back to the Court and has made the following statement:

Morphine is the principal alkaloid of opium. Morphine as base was official in British pharmaceuticals Codex, 1939 along with its acetate salt. It is official in all pharmacopoeias as hydrochloride on sulphate salt. Indian Pharmacopoeia describe both morphine hydrochloride and morphine sulphate. Morphine sulphate is a salt name and morphine is a trade name.