IN THE HIGH COURT OF KERALA AT ERNAKULAM PRESENT : THE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE V.K.MOHANAN FRIDAY, THE 13TH MARCH 2009 / 22ND PHALGUNA 1930 CRL.A.No. 74 of 2009() ---------------------- SC.84/2008 of ADDL. SESSIONS JUDGE, (ADH0OC-II), THALASSERY) .................... APPELLANT(S): -------------- CHEMPARATHI NAOUSHAD,S/O.MAHADEVAN AGED 36, COOLIE, CHEMBARATHI HOUSE ODICHUKUNNU, AYYAMKUNNU AMSOM DESOM, VALLITHODU, IRITTY' CONVICT NO.6547, CENTRAL PRISON , KANNUR. BY ADV. ADV.ASHA CHACKO[STATE BRIEF] RESPONDENT(S): --------------- STATE OF KERALA ADV. PUBLIC PROSECUTOR SMT. LAKSHMI RANI. THIS CRIMINAL APPEAL HAVING BEEN FINALLY HEARD ON 13.3.2009, THE COURT ON THE SAME DAY DELIVERED THE FOLLOWING: V.K.MOHANAN, J. ---------------------------------------------- CRL.A. No.74 OF 2009 ---------------------------------------------- Dated, 13th March, 2009. JUDGMENT This appeal is preferred by the sole accused in S.C.No.84/2008, who is undergoing imprisonment in pursuance of the judgment dated 2.9.2008 in the above Sessions Case, for the offence punishable under section 55(a) of the Abkari Act and Rule 9 of the Foreign Liquor Rules. 2. The prosecution case is that on 4.9.2007, at about 7.50 p.m. the accused was found in possession of 18 bottles of Indian made foreign Liquor containing 180 ml. each with the brand name Cold Club special brandy, permitted for sale in Pondicherry State alone, having illegally transported from Pondicherry for unlawful sale near the Government Hospital, Thalassery on the southern side of Mahe - Kannur National Highway. Thus the accused was arrested forthwith by the detecting officer who recovered the contraband liquour bottles. Accordingly, Crime No.442 of 2007 for the offence punishable under Section 55(a) of the Abkari Act and Rule 9 of the Foreign Crl.A.74 of 2009 -:2:- Liquor Rules was registered in the Thalassery Police Station. 3. After completing the investigation, final report was filed before the court of Judicial First Class Magistrate, Thalassery and the concerned court committed the case to the Sessions Court, as per the proceedings of the committal court in C.P.No.52/200, where the case was received and renumbered as S.C.No.84/2008 and, subsequently, made over to the trial court for disposal. Though the accused was arrested initially on 4.9.2007, he was released on bail with effect from 23.10.2007 but thereafter he jumped out the bail and, consequently, coercive steps were issued and finally rearrested him on 19.4.2008. Thus he was in jail as an under trial prisoner for the period between 4.9.2007 and 23.10.2007 and from 19.7.2008 till the date of judgment on 2.9.2008 and thereafter as a convict till this date 4. On producing the accused, after hearing the accused as well as the the prosecution, a formal charge was framed against the accused under section 55(a) of the Act and when the same read over and explained to the accused, he pleaded not guilty which resulted in further trial of the case. Thus the prosecution Crl.A.74 of 2009 -:3:- adduced evidence consists of the depositions of PWs 1, 2 and 3 and documentary evidence such as Exts P1 to P9. Besides the above, material objects such as M.Os 1 and 2 were marked and identified. The incriminating circumstances, which emerged during the prosecution evidence, when put to the accused, he denied the same under section 313 Cr.P.C.. It is his further case that he got involved in a fracas between employees in a bus and the police at the new bus stand, Thalassery, as a passenger which offended the police, subsequently falsely implicated him in the given case so as to wreak vengeance against him. No evidence, either oral or documentary, was adduced from the side of the defence.. On the basis of the rival pleadings and the materials, the court below considered 4 points for its determination. Finally, the Court found that the prosecution succeeded in proving the guilt of the accused. It is also concluded that since the contraband liquor is specifically meant and intended for sale in outside State it follows that he illegally transported the same and his possession of the contraband liquour is evidently in the course of its illegal transport and thereby constitute an ofence punishable Crl.A.74 of 2009 -:4:- under section 55(a) of the Abkari Act and Rule 9 of Foreign Liquor Rules and accordingly, the accused is convicted for the said offences. On such conclusion, the accused is sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for 2 years and to pay a fine of Rs.1.00,000/-, in default in paying the fine, to undergo rigorous imprisonment for one year more under section 55(a) of the Abkari Act and Rule 9 of the Foreign Liquor Rules. Set off is allowed under section 428 Cr.PC. It is the above conviction and sentence challenged in this appeal from jail. 5. As the appeal is preferred from the jail, Smt. Asha Chacko is appointed as State Brief to prosecute the appeal for and on behalf of the appellant. Thus I have heard Smt. Asha Chacko and the learned Public Prosecutor Smt. K.L.Lakshmi Rani. 6. The specific case of the prosecution is that the appellant/accused was found in possession of 18 bottles of Indian made foreign liquor each containing 180 ml., without any authority and licence and thereby committed the offence punishable under the above provisions. In order to substantiate the prosecution allegation, the prosecution mainly depends upon the evidence of Crl.A.74 of 2009 -:5:- PWs 1 to 3 and also the documents such as Exts.P1 to P9. PW1 is the then Addl.Sub Inspector of Police, Thalassery, who detected the offence. When PW1 was examined, he had deposed that on 4.9.2007, while he was engaged in law and order duty, got information that a person dressed in rose coloured shirt and white dhothi was standing near the gate of the Government Hospital, Thalassery, carrying foreign liquor in a plastic bag. On the basis of the said information which received by PW1 at about 7.45 p.m., he rushed to the spot and identified the person in terms of the description contained in the information. PW1 further states that on seeing the police party, the accused got perplexed. According to him, he identified the accused as the person described in the information who was carrying a plastic bag in which 18 bottles of Royal gold special brandy, 180 ml each were found on examination. PW1 has categorically stated that the bottles bear stickers indicating sale of liquor in Pondicherry. He has stated that the sale of those article is prohibited in our State. PW1 further stated that the accused failed to produce any valid authority for possession of such Indian made foreign liquor. Crl.A.74 of 2009 -:6:- PW1 further elaborately deposed about the seizure, sampling etc. Ext.P1 is the seizure mahazar from which it can be seen that the contraband article was seized by PW1 along with cardboard carton which was seen covered with a news paper and the plastic bag ans the same were identified as M.Os 1 and 2 respectively. PW1 arrested the accused from the spot as per Ext.P2 arrest memo and Ext.P3 inspection memo. On the basis of the above seizure and arrest of the accused, Ext.P4 FIR was registered in crime No.442/2007 of Thalassery police station. PW1 further deposed that the sample bottles and M.Os 1 and 2 were produced by himself as per Ext.P5 property list on the next day along with the accused produced with a remand report. The residue of the contraband properties were forwarded to the Assistant Excise Commissioner for preparing the inventory under section 53A of the Abkari Act. 7. The prosecution has also cited and examined PW2 as an attester to Ext.P1 mahazar. While PW2 was examined, he had identified his signature in Ext.P1 mahazar and Ext.P2 arrest memo. PW2 had also identified the accused as the person Crl.A.74 of 2009 -:7:- from whom, foreign liquor was seized by the police. It is true that PW2 could not mention the name of the accused as he was not aware of his name. So according to the prosecution, the seizure is supported by independent evidence of PW2. PW1 further submitted Ext.P7 forwarding note for sending the samples for chemical analysis and, consequently, Ext.P8 certificate was obtained which reveals that ethyl alcohol was detected in both the sample bottles and the samples of liquid contained 42.51% and 42.39% respectively by volume of ethyl alcohol. On the basis of Ext.P8 certificate, issued by the Assistant Chemical Examiner, Government of Kerala, PW1 testified that the samples were received in the lab with the seals on the bottles were intact and found tallied with the sample seal provided. 8. When PW3, who conducted investigation was examined, he deposed in terms of the prosecution case. Thus on the basis of such evidence and materials , the trial court found that the accused is guilty and accordingly convicted. 9. Challenging the conviction and sentence, the learned counsel for the appellant submitted that the finding of the trial court Crl.A.74 of 2009 -:8:- that the accused has committed the offence punishable under section 55(a) of the Abkari Act is illegal and incorrect since according to the leaned counsel, the only allegation of the prosecution is that the accused was found in possession of this much quantity of Indian made foreign liquor and there is no allegation that such possession was connected with the import or export, or transport or transit of the contraband article. In support of the above contention, the learned counsel very much placed reliance on the decision of this Court reported in Raman v. State of Kerala (2007(4) KLT 223) and Sabu v. State of Kerala ( 2007 (4) KLT 169). It is also the case of the learned counsel that except the interested version of PWs 1 and 3, there is no independent evidence to prove the seizure of the contraband article from the possession of the appellant. It is also argued that PW 2 was not able to identify the accused by name. Inviting my attention to a portion of his deposition, the learned counsel submitted that PW2 put his signature in Ext.P1 without knowing the contents of the bottles which alleged to have been seized from the possession of the accused. Thus, according to the Crl.A.74 of 2009 -:9:- learned counsel, the conviction is liable to be set aside. It is her alternative submission that even if this Court found that the conviction is correct, some leniency may be shown with respect to the sentence. 10. On the other hand, Smt.K.L.Lakshmi Rani, the learned Public Prosecutor supporting the finding, conviction and sentence of the court below, submitted that the specific case of the prosecution is to the effect that Indian made foreign liquor which is not permitted either for sale or for possession in the Kerala State, which exclusively for the sale and consumption in the Pondicherry, transported to the Kerala State without any authority and thus the accused was found in possession of this much quantity and therefore, Section 55(a) of the Act is attracted. It is also submitted by the learned Public Prosecutor that the evidence of PWs 1 and 3 supported by the evidence of PW2, and also contemporaneous documents such as Ext.P1 seizure mahazar, Ext.P2 arrest memo etc., are sufficient to show the correctness of the prosecution case. The trial court has correctly convicted and sentenced the accused/appellant on the basis of Crl.A.74 of 2009 -:10:- evidence and materials and therefore, no interference is warranted. 11. I have carefully considered the arguments advanced by both the counsel for the appellant as well as the learned Public Prosecutor. The argument of the learned counsel for the appellant that, Section 55(a) is not attracted in the present case, is not sustainable simply for the reason that the specific case of the prosecution itself would show that the contraband article which seized from the possession of the accused/appellant is the article which meant for sale only in the Pondicherry State and the accused/appellant miserably failed to show any authority or licence for the possession of such Indian made foreign liquor and also for the transportation or transit of the same. In the light of the above evidence and the materials on record, the decision cited by the learned counsel for the appellant has no application in the facts and circumstances involved in the case. 12. The other point raised by the learned counsel is that, to prove the prosecution allegation, there is no independent evidence to corroborate the version of the official witnesses, especially, Crl.A.74 of 2009 -:11:- with respect to the evidence of PW1. The learned counsel pointed out that though PW2 was cited and examined by the prosecution, he had not fully supported the case of the prosecution. According to the learned counsel, the only favourable part of his evidence is that he identified his signature in Ext.P1 and he had not identified the accused and also he was not aware of the contents of Ext.P1. Of course, the above contention would have some bearing in the facts and circumstances involved in the case if the evidence of PW1 is doubtful or the same contained infirmities. PW1 is the detecting officer who deposed in the court below supporting the prosecution case and his evidence is free from any doubt, infirmities or contradictions. Though PW1 was subjected to extensive cross examination, nothing was brought to discredit his version. Thus the evidence of PW1 is clear and admissible. There is no rule that the evidence of official witnesses can be acted upon only if the same is corroborated through independent source. As indicated earlier, such test can be applied if there is any infirmity or contradiction or doubt in their deposition. But in the present case, there is no such failure. Crl.A.74 of 2009 -:12:- Therefore, the evidence of PW1 can safely be acted upon. In this juncture. it is relevant to note that it is a case where, apart from the evidence of official witnesses, the prosecution has cited PW2, an independent witness and examined him to prove the prosecution case. Going by the evidence of PW2, it can be seen that on material aspects, he had deposed in terms of the prosecution case as such. He had specifically stated before the court below that it is from the accused, the contraband article was seized. Though PW2 was not able to mention the name of the accused, he had identified the accused as the person from whom the article was seized. It is also the case of the counsel that though another independent witness was shown in the charge sheet, he was not examined. The non examination of such witness in no way affected the prosecution case because the evidence of PWs 1 and 3 supported by the evidence of PW2 and other contemporary documents are sufficient to prove the prosecution case. No other serious points are raised. 13. In the light of the above discussion and finding, I am of the view that there is no scope for interference with the finding Crl.A.74 of 2009 -:13:- and the order of conviction passed by the court below and accordingly, the conviction is confirmed. 14. Regarding the sentence, the learned counsel submitted that the quantity involved is only 3.24 litres, that too, Indian made foreign liquour, but the sentence awarded is disproportionate to the quantity seized and hence, a lenient view may be taken. It is to be noted that the contraband article seized from the possession of the appellant is not meant for sale or to deal with in the State of Kerala, but meant for sale in Pondicherry. However, the quantity involved is only 3.24 litres of Indian made foreign liquour. Considering the above facts, I am of the view that some modifications can be made with respect to the sentence. Accordingly, the substantial sentence awarded by the court below is reduced to one year and fixed as one year rigorous imprisonment. As the fine amount awarded is only the statutory minimum, no interference is called for. But the default sentence is fixed as one month rigorous imprisonment. Thus the accused is convicted and sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for one year and to pay a fine of Rs.1.00,000/- and in default in Crl.A.74 of 2009 -:14:- paying the amount, the accused/appellant is ordered to undergo rigorous imprisonment for a period of one month under section 55 (a) of the Abkari Act and Rule 9 of Foreign Liquour Rules. Set off is allowed under Section 428 Cr.P.C. 15. From the records, it is seen that the accused was arrested initially on 4.9.2007 and bail was granted as per order dated 23.10.2007 passed by the Sessions Court, Thalassery in Crl.M.C.1464/2007, but he was actually released only on 19.11.2007. Thus, initially he had already undergone imprisonment for a period of 76 days as an under trial prisoner. As the accused jumped out the bail, he was again arrested on 19.4.2008 and during the trial he was in jail and thus he had again undergone imprisonment as an under-trial prisoner. The impugned judgment was pronounced on 2.9.2008. Thus from the date of re- arrest till the pronouncement of the judgment, he had undergone 5 months and 10 days imprisonment as an under-trial prisoner. From the date of the judgment till this date he has been suffering the sentence. Thus he had completed more than 6 months. Thus, on calculating the period of imprisonment he had already Crl.A.74 of 2009 -:15:- undergone and on giving the benefit under section 428 Cr.P.C., it can be seen that the accused has already suffered the revised sentence and he is not required to be detained in jail further and therefore he is entitled to get released from the jail. Hence, there will be a direction to release the appellant/accused forthwith from the jail if he is not required in any other case. In the result, the appeal is dismissed confirming the conviction but subject to the modification with respect to the sentence as indicated above. V.K.MOHANAN, JUDGE kvm/- Crl.A.74 of 2009 -:16:- V.K.MOHANAN, J. Crl.A.No. 74 of 2009 Judgment Dated:13.3.2009.