The High Court held that the conviction under Section 55(a) of the Abkari Act must be set aside because the Preventive Officer PW6 lacked authority to register the crime report despite his rank.
The conviction and sentence are set aside and the appellant is acquitted.
This page shows the compact analysis of this judgement. The full analysis — procedural history, issue-by-issue holdings with ratio and obiter, advocates, and paragraph-level evidence for every claim — is being added to the record in batches and will appear here when this judgement has been through it.
IN THE HIGH COURT OF KERALA AT ERNAKULAM
PRESENT:
THE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE B.KEMAL PASHA
THURSDAY, THE 15TH DAY OF DECEMBER 2016/24TH AGRAHAYANA, 1938
CRL.A.No. 71 of 2009 ( )
SC 604/2006 of ADDL. SESSIONS COURT, VADAKARA DATED 19-12-2008
APPELLANT/ACCUSED:
ABDUL NAZAR, S/O.KUNHI MUHAMMAD, AGED 32 YEARS, PERUMBAN VEETTIL HOUSE, ANGADIPPURAM AMSOM, PUTHANANGADI DESOM, MALAPPURAM DISTRICT.
BY ADV. SRI.SUNNY MATHEW
RESPONDENT/COMPLAINANT:
STATE OF KERALA THROUGH THE EXCISE INSPECTOR, VATAKARA EXCISE RANGE, REPRESENTED BY THE PUBLIC PROSECUTOR, HIGH COURT OF KERALA, ERNAKULAM.
BY SR.PUBLIC PROSECUTOR SRI.ALEX M. THOMBRA
THIS CRIMINAL APPEAL HAVING BEEN FINALLY HEARD ON 15-12-2016, THE COURT ON THE SAME DAY DELIVERED THE FOLLOWING:
DSV/17/12/16
B. KEMAL PASHA, J
=================
Crl.Appeal No.71 of 2009 =================
Dated this the 15th day of December, 2016
J U D G M E N T
The appellant is the accused in Sessions Case No.604 of 2006 of the Additional Sessions Court,
Vatakara, who stands convicted under Section 55(a) of the Abkari Act and sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for one year and to pay a fine of `1,00,000/-, in default, to undergo rigorous imprisonment for six more months.
Liquor, by bus bearing Registration No.KL-13-J-7979 at Azhiyur, in contravention of the provisions of the Abkari Act.
Crl.A.No.71 of 2009 2
accused under arrest and seized the contraband through Exhibit-P2 mahazar. Exhibit-P1 is the arrest memo. He produced the accused, the properties and the records before PW6, Preventive Officer of Excise, who was in charge of the Excise Inspector. PW6 registered Crime No.10 of 2004 through Exhibit-P4 crime and occurrence report. The accused along with properties were produced before court on the same day. Exhibit-P5 is the property list. Forwarding note was furnished, the copy of which is Exhibit-P6. PW7, Excise Inspector, Vatakara, conducted the investigation and filed the Final Report on getting Exhibit-P9 certificate of chemical analysis.
3
Crl.A.No.71 of 2009
of the Excise Department, not below the rank of Excise Inspectors, were appointed as Abkari Officers to
Crl.A.No.71 of 2009
4
perform the acts and duties mentioned in Sections 40 to 53 of the Abkari Act, within the area for which they were appointed. PW6 was the Preventive Officer of Excise, Vatakara. Even though he claims that he was in charge of the Excise Inspector, no document has been produced by the prosecution to prove that PW6 was appointed as Excise Inspector of Vatakara as on the date of registration of Exhibit-P4. Matters being so, PW6 was not competent or authorised to register Exhibit-P4 crime and occurrence report. Therefore, all further proceedings in this case have become illegal, and the conviction and sentence passed by the court below are liable to be set aside.
In the result, this Crl. Appeal is allowed and the conviction and sentence passed by the court below are set aside. The appellant is acquitted.
Sd/-
B. KEMAL PASHA, JUDGE.
DSV/15/12/16
// True Copy //
P.A. To Judge
1 issue framed by the court
Whether the conviction and sentence are liable to be set aside on the ground that PW6 who registered the crime report was not competent or authorised to do so.
1 provisions across 1 enactments
ABDUL NAZAR
STATE OF KERALA
B. KEMAL PASHA
B. KEMAL PASHA
As recorded by the court registry
Judgements on the same questions, provisions and authorities, from every court
