The State of Himachal Pradesh appealed against the acquittal of respondent Ram Lal by the Special Judge-II, Kullu, who had been charged under Section 20 of the NDPS Act, 1985 for alleged possession of 354 grams of Charas recovered from his shoes on 23 February 2013. The prosecution case was that a police party on patrol apprehended Ram Lal on suspicious behaviour and, after giving him the option under Section 50 of the NDPS Act, conducted a personal search before SDPO Sanjeev Chauhan (PW-7), during which the contraband was found. The Trial Court acquitted the accused, finding that the prosecution had not properly complied with Section 50 of the NDPS Act, noting issues including multiple options being given for personal search, non-association of independent witnesses, non-examination of key police witnesses, and contradictions in the prosecution evidence. The High Court examined the statutory requirements of Section 50 of the NDPS Act and the law laid down by the Supreme Court's Constitutional Bench in State of Punjab v. Baldev Singh (1999) 6 SCC 172, which mandates that non-compliance with Section 50 renders the recovery inadmissible. The judgment text provided does not record the final order of the High Court, as it is cut off before the conclusion.