Allowed

Chandran Pillai, S/O. Kuttan Pillai, v. State of Kerala

Kerala HC26 Jun 2019CRL.A/320/2007

Case brief

AI extract

What is this about?

In this criminal appeal, the High Court of Kerala allowed the appeal and acquitted the appellant. The court held that the prosecution failed to produce a forwarding note to establish tamper-proof dispatch of the contraband sample, making it unsafe to rely on the chemical analysis report for conviction.

What did the court decide?

The conviction and sentence passed by the court below were set aside and the appellant is acquitted. The bail bond of the appellant is discharged.

Chandran Pillai, S/O. Kuttan Pillai, Vs State of Kerala — Kerala HC (2019) — LawSathi Research

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IN THE HIGH COURT OF KERALA AT ERNAKULAM

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PRESENT

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THE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE B.SUDHEENDRA KUMAR

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WEDNESDAY, THE 26TH DAY OF JUNE 2019 / 5TH ASHADHA, 1941

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CRL.A.No.320 of 2007

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AGAINST THE ORDER/JUDGMENT IN SC 977/2002 of ADDITIONAL SESSIONS COURT (ADHOC)-II, KOLLAM DATED 16-01-2007

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AGAINST THE ORDER/JUDGMENT IN CP 229/2000 of JUDICIAL MAGISTRATE OF FIRST CLASS -II, KOLLAM

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APPELLANT/S:

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CHANDRAN PILLAI, S/O. KUTTAN PILLAI, ASWATHI BHAVAN, CHERIYALA DESHOM, THRIKKOVILVATTOM VILLAGE, KOLLAM TALUK.

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BY ADVS. SRI.BIMAL K.NATH SRI.E.M.SUNIL KUMAR SRI.S.JAMAL SRI.SREEVALSAN.V

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RESPONDENT/S:

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STATE OF KERALA REPRESENTED BY PUBLIC PROSECUTOR, HIGH COURT OF KERALA.

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OTHER PRESENT:

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SRI.E.C.BINEESH,PP

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THIS CRIMINAL APPEAL HAVING BEEN FINALLY HEARD ON 26.06.2019, THE COURT ON THE SAME DAY PASSED THE FOLLOWING:

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CRL.A.No.320 of 2007

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-2-

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JUDGMENT

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The appellant was convicted and

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sentenced by the court below under Section

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8(2) of the Abkari Act.

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2. The prosecution allegation is

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that on 27.01.1999 at about 3.30 p.m., the

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appellant was found in possession of 2.55 litres of arrack in contravention of the

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provisions of the Abkari Act.

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3. Heard.

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4. The learned counsel for the

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appellant has argued that since no forwarding note was produced and marked before the court, the tamper-proof dispatch

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of the sample to the laboratory could not be

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CRL.A.No.320 of 2007

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-3-

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established and consequently, the appellant is entitled to benefit of doubt.

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5. It appears that no forwarding note

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was produced and marked before the Court in this case. Therefore, it has to be held that the prosecution could not establish the tamper-proof dispatch of the sample to the laboratory. Therefore, there cannot be any guarantee that the sample produced before the court and analysed in the laboratory was the sample drawn from the contraband seized from the appellant. Since the forwarding note was not produced and marked before the court, there is no link evidence to connect the appellant with the sample analyzed in the laboratory. In the said circumstances,

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CRL.A.No.320 of 2007

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it is not safe to convict the appellant on the basis of Ext.P2 chemical analysis report. Consequently, the conviction and

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sentence passed by the court below cannot be sustained.

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In the result, this appeal stands allowed, setting aside the conviction and sentence passed by the court below and the appellant stands acquitted. The bail bond

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of the appellant stands discharged.

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Sd/-

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B. SUDHEENDRA KUMAR, JUDGE

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STK

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//TRUE COPY//

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//P.A. TO JUDGE//

Chandran Pillai, S/O. Kuttan Pillai, v. State of Kerala

Case brief

What is this about?

What did the court decide?

Chandran Pillai, S/O. Kuttan Pillai, v. State of Kerala

Case brief

What is this about?

What did the court decide?

What the court decided

A compact analysis

Issues for consideration

Statutes considered

Parties & counsel

Coram

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