Criminal revision filed by an accused under the Abkari Act. The high court allowed the petition, holding that non-production of the forwarding note and absence of seal description in the mahazar rendered the prosecution case incomplete and fatal to the conviction.
Conviction and sentence set aside; accused acquitted; bail bond cancelled.
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 DR. JUSTICE KAUSER EDAPPAGATH
TUESDAY, THE 26TH DAY OF JULY 2022 / 4TH SRAVANA, 1944
CRL.REV.PET NO. 1537 OF 2004
AGAINST THE JUDGMENT CRA 211/2000 OF ADDITIONAL DISTRICT AND SESSIONS COURT FAST TRACK (ADHOC)-II, KOZHIKODE PETITIONER/ACCUSED/APPELLANT:
SREENIVASAN
S/O KORAPPAN,PULLAM KOTTAMMAL,NANMANDA, KOZHIKODE.
BY ADVS. SRI.V.V.SURENDRAN SMT.SANIKA.V.S.
RESPONDENTS/RESPONDENT/COMPLAINANT:
BY ADV PUBLIC PROSECUTOR SRI.SANGEETHA RAJ -P.P
THIS CRIMINAL REVISION PETITION HAVING COME UP FOR ADMISSION ON 26.07.2022, THE COURT ON THE SAME DAY DELIVERED THE FOLLOWING:
Crl.R.P.No.1537/2004
-:2:-
O R D E R
Dated this the 27th day of July, 2022
This revision petition has been directed against the judgment dated 5/3/2003 passed by the Additional District and Sessions Court, Kozhikode (for short, 'the appellate court') in Crl.Appeal No.211/2000 confirming the judgment dated 27/4/2000 passed by the Judicial First Class Magistrate Court, Quilandy (for short, the trial court) in CC No.706/1997
Crl.R.P.No.1537/2004
-:3:-
accused who pleaded not guilty. The prosecution examined PWs 1 to 4 and marked Exts.P1 to P3. MO1 was identified. No defence evidence was adduced. After trial, the trial court found the accused guilty u/s 58 of the Abkari Act and he was convicted for the said offence. The trial court sentenced the accused to undergo simple imprisonment for two months and to pay a fine of `15,000/-, in default to suffer simple imprisonment for a period of one month. In appeal, the appellate court confirmed the conviction and sentence. Aggrieved by the conviction and sentence passed by the courts below, the accused has preferred this revision petition.
Crl.R.P.No.1537/2004
-:4:-
655] has held that in the absence of the forwarding note marked in evidence, it cannot be found that the prosecution has proved beyond reasonable doubt that the very same sample taken at the spot of occurrence had reached the chemical examiner for analysis in a tamper proof condition. The forwarding note is the link evidence to show that it was the same sample which was drawn from the contraband seized from the accused had eventually reached the chemical analysis laboratory by change of hands in a tamper proof condition. Hence, I am of the view that non production of the forwarding note is fatal to the prosecution.
Crl.R.P.No.1537/2004
-:5:-
In the result, the criminal revision petition stands allowed. The conviction and sentence passed by the courts below vide the impugned judgments are set aside. The revision petitioner is found not guilty of the offences charged against him and accordingly he is acquitted. His bail bond is cancelled.
Sd/-
DR. KAUSER EDAPPAGATH
JUDGE
Rp
2 issues framed by the court
Whether conviction can be sustained without production of the forwarding note in evidence linking seized sample to laboratory analysis.
Whether the seizure mahazar contained the required specimen seal description to satisfy the court of the genuineness of the sample.
Colour shows how this judgement treated each authority
Gireesh @ Manoj v. State of KeralaApplied¶28
_Gireesh @ Manoj v. State of Kerala_ [2019 KHC 655]
K. Bhaskaran v. State of KeralaApplied¶32
_K. Bhaskaran v. State of Kerala_ (2020(5) KLT Online 1057)
1 provisions across 1 enactments
SREENIVASAN
STATE OF KERALA
KAUSER EDAPPAGATH
As recorded by the court registry
Judgements on the same questions, provisions and authorities, from every court
