HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE OF ANDHRA PRADESH THE HON’BLE SRI JUSTICE GOPALA KRISHNA TAMADA CRL. REVISION CASE No. 851 OF 2004 Wednesday, the Fourth Day of July, Two Thousand and Ten Between Achanti Sambasiva Rao Petitioner AND The State of Andhra Pradesh, Rep. By Public Prosecutor, High Court of A.P., Hyderabad Respondent ORAL ORDER: The petitioner herein was tried by the II Addl. Junior Civil Judge/ Judicial Magistrate of First Class, Bapatla, Guntur District, in CC No. 58 of 2001 for the offence punishable under Sec.8(b) of the A.P. Prohibition Act. During the course of trial, PWs 1 to 4 were examined and Exs. P-1 to P-4 were marked on behalf of the prosecution. The petitioner has not chosen to examine anybody and also did not choose to file any document. Having analysed the oral and documentary evidence, the learned Judicial Magistrate of First Class, Bapatla, by his judgment dated 1.11.2002, held that the prosecution has established guilt of the petitioner and accordingly convicted and sentenced him to undergo simple imprisonment for a period of one year and to pay a fine of Rs.20,000/- in default of payment thereof, to suffer simple imprisonment for three months. The said judgment was questioned by the petitioner by filing Criminal Appeal No.463 of 2002 and the learned V Addl. District & Sessions Judge, Guntur, by his judgment dated 5.5.2004, while concurring with the findings recorded by the trial court, had dismissed the appeal. Hence, the present Criminal Revision Case. The case of the prosecution in brief is that on the intervening night of 25/26.3.1996 at about 2.30 a.m. the petitioner and others were found unloading bagpiper whisky bottles from Toyota Mini Lorry No.AEK 7385 and on being questioned by the Inspector of Police, they confessed that with an intention to gain wrongfully, they have transported the said whisky from Bangalore to Appikatla and were intending to stock the same in the house of Accused No.4 and the petitioner herein is confessed to be the driver of the lorry. The Inspector of Police after recording confessional statements, seized the contraband and later a case in Cr. No. 21 of 1996 for the offence under Sec. 8(b) of the A.P. Prohibition Act came to be registered and after completion of investigation, charge sheet was filed against the petitioner and others. Apparently, the alleged offence took place when the prohibition was introduced in the State of Andhra Pradesh in the year 1995 and minimum sentence was prescribed. Subsequently, the prohibition was removed in the State of Andhra Pradesh. Accordingly, in the year 1997, amendments were brought in stating that the offences falling under the A.P. Prohibition Act are compoundable. Thereafter, the said Act was repealed. When the said Act itself is not in force, this court is of the view that a lenient view can be taken. From the record, it is clear that the petitioner was arrested on the intervening night of 25/26.3.1996 and he was in jail for some time and later when the appeal was dismissed on 05.05.2004, again the petitioner was taken in custody and came out of the jail by virtue of the bail granted to him by this court on 11.05.2004. Thus it is clear that the petitioner has undergone substantive sentence. In the light of the above facts, the sentence of imprisonment of one year is reduced to that of the period already undergone. With this modification in the sentence of imprisonment, the Criminal Revision Case is dismissed confirming the impugned judgment in all other aspects. _____________________________ Justice Gopala Krishna Tamada August 4, 2010 MAS