The High Court allowed the appeal and acquitted the accused. It held that the prosecution failed to establish a satisfactory link between the seized contraband and the laboratory analysis report due to missing seizure details regarding the seal and the absence of forwarding notes.
The appellant is acquitted of the offence and set at liberty.
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.
Crl.A No.748 of 2009
1
IN THE HIGH COURT OF KERALA AT ERNAKULAM
PRESENT
THE HONOURABLE MR.JUSTICE K. BABU
FRIDAY, THE 15TH DAY OF MARCH 2024 / 25TH PHALGUNA, 1945
CRL.A NO. 748 OF 2009
AGAINST THE JUDGMENT DATED 30.03.2009 IN SC NO.49 OF 2009 OF
ADDITIONAL SESSIONS COURT, FAST TRACK COURT NO.III (ADHOC),
MANJERI
APPELLANT/S:
SUNIL KUMAR, AGED 22 YEARS,
S/O.KUTTAN, POOKKUNNATHPURAI, KAKKOV,
VAZHAYOOR, MALAPPURAM DISTRICT.
BY ADV SRI.T.K.SAIDALIKUTTY
RESPONDENTS:
1 THE EXCISE INSPECTOR , MANJERI2 THE STATE OF KERALA REP.BY THE PUBLIC PROSECUTOR, HIGH COURT OF KERALA, ERNAKULAM.BY SRI.G.SUDHEER -PUBLIC PROSECUTOR
THIS CRIMINAL APPEAL HAVING COME UP FOR ADMISSION ON
15.03.2024, THE COURT ON THE SAME DAY DELIVERED THE
FOLLOWING:
Crl.A No.748 of 2009
2
K.BABU, J
Crl.A No.748 of 2009
-------------------------------------------------Dated this the 15th day of March, 2024
J U D G M E N T
Aggrieved by the judgment dated 30.3.2009, passed by the Additional Sessions Court, Fast Track Court No.III (Ad Hoc), Manjeri in S.C.No.49/2009, the accused has preferred this appeal.
Crl.A No.748 of 2009
3
Abkari Act. The accused pleaded not guilty to the charge, and therefore, he came to be tried by the Trial Court for the aforesaid offence.
Crl.A No.748 of 2009
4
laboratory. The learned counsel for the appellant relied on the following circumstances to substantiate his contentions:
this Court held that the nature of the seal used by the detecting officer shall be mentioned in the seizure mahazar and the specimen of the seal shall be produced in the court so as to enable the court to satisfy the genuineness of the sample produced in the court.
Crl.A No.748 of 2009
5
the sample seal so provided is tallying with the seal affixed on the sample, no evidentiary value can be attached to the chemical analysis report.
Crl.A No.748 of 2009
6
The Crl.Appeal is allowed as above.
Sd/K.BABU JUDGE
ab
3 issues framed by the court
Whether the prosecution successfully established a chain of custody linking the seized contraband to the chemical analysis report.
Whether the absence of a produced specimen of the sealing ring and the sealing note vitiates the evidentiary value of the seizure and laboratory reports.
Whether the conviction under Section 8(2) of the Abkari Act can stand without satisfying the requirement of traceability of the seized substance to the analysis performed.
Colour shows how this judgement treated each authority
Bhaskaran v. State of KeralaDistinguished¶41
Bhaskaran v. State of Kerala (2020 KHC 5296)
Rajamma v. State of KeralaDistinguished¶43
Rajamma v. State of Kerala [2014 (1) KLT 506]
Ramachandran v. State of KeralaDistinguished¶45
Ramachandran v. State of Kerala [2021 (1) KLT 793]
Vijay Pandey v. State of U.PDistinguished¶47
Vijay Pandey v. State of U.P (AIR 2019 SC 3569) · Who else cites this
3 provisions across 2 enactments
Sunil Kumar
The Excise Inspector, Manjeri
The State of Kerala
K. BABU
As recorded by the court registry
Judgements on the same questions, provisions and authorities, from every court