{"id":144995,"date":"2010-02-24T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2010-02-23T18:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.legalindia.com\/judgments\/subrahmaniyan-vs-state-of-kerala-on-24-february-2010"},"modified":"2015-01-26T08:34:47","modified_gmt":"2015-01-26T03:04:47","slug":"subrahmaniyan-vs-state-of-kerala-on-24-february-2010","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.legalindia.com\/judgments\/subrahmaniyan-vs-state-of-kerala-on-24-february-2010","title":{"rendered":"Subrahmaniyan vs State Of Kerala on 24 February, 2010"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"docsource_main\">Kerala High Court<\/div>\n<div class=\"doc_title\">Subrahmaniyan vs State Of Kerala on 24 February, 2010<\/div>\n<pre>       \n\n  \n\n  \n\n \n \n  IN THE HIGH COURT OF KERALA AT ERNAKULAM\n\nCRL.A.No. 1879 of 2003()\n\n\n1. SUBRAHMANIYAN, S\/O. GANAPATHY,\n                      ...  Petitioner\n\n                        Vs\n\n\n\n1. STATE OF KERALA,\n                       ...       Respondent\n\n                For Petitioner  :SRI.PADAYATTEE YELDO\n\n                For Respondent  :PUBLIC PROSECUTOR\n\nThe Hon'ble MR. Justice V.K.MOHANAN\n\n Dated :24\/02\/2010\n\n O R D E R\n                                                    (C.R)\n\n                      V.K.MOHANAN, J\n          ------------------------------------------\n             Crl. Appeal No. 1879 of 2003\n          -------------------------------------------\n         Dated 24th Day of February, 2010\n\n\n                        JUDGMENT\n<\/pre>\n<p>     This appeal is at the instance of the sole accused in<\/p>\n<p>S.C.No.71\/2002 of the Court of Addl.District and<\/p>\n<p>Sessions Judge (Adhoc 1), Thodupuzha, who challenges<\/p>\n<p>his conviction and sentence under Section 55 (a) of the<\/p>\n<p>Abkari Act (for short, &#8216;the Act&#8217; only)<\/p>\n<p>     2.   The prosecution case is that on 14.6.99 at 3<\/p>\n<p>P.M the accused was found in possession of 3 litres of<\/p>\n<p>arrack in a plastic can at Vattappara junction at a place<\/p>\n<p>called Pothamedu. On the basis of the said allegation,<\/p>\n<p>crime No.8\/99 of Devikukulam Excise Range was<\/p>\n<p>registered. After investigation, a final report was filed<\/p>\n<p>in   the   Court of Judicial First Class            Magistrate,<\/p>\n<p>Devikulam, whereupon         C.P.No.3\/2001 was         initiated<\/p>\n<p>and by order dated 6.10.2001, the learned Magistrate<\/p>\n<p>CRA 1879\/03<br \/>\n<span class=\"hidden_text\">                             -:2:-<\/span><\/p>\n<p>committed the case to the Sessions Court, Thodupuzha<\/p>\n<p>where the case was instituted as S.C.No.71\/2002, which<\/p>\n<p>was made over to the court of Assistant Sessions Judge,<\/p>\n<p>but subsequently, it was transferred by the Sessions<\/p>\n<p>Court to the trial court for disposal.           During the<\/p>\n<p>course of trial, PWs 1 to 3 were examined on the side of<\/p>\n<p>the prosecution and Exts.P1 to P5 were marked as<\/p>\n<p>documentary evidence. M.O-1 material object was also<\/p>\n<p>identified and marked.     The defence&#8217;s stand was total<\/p>\n<p>denial. No evidence was adduced from the side of the<\/p>\n<p>defence.     Finally, on the basis of the evidence and<\/p>\n<p>materials on record, the trial court found that the accused<\/p>\n<p>is guilty of the offence under Section 55 (a) of the Act and<\/p>\n<p>accordingly    he is sentenced      to undergo      rigorous<\/p>\n<p>imprisonment for a period of three months and to pay a<\/p>\n<p>fine of Rs.1,00,000\/- (one lakh) with a default sentence of<\/p>\n<p>simple imprisonment for three months. It is the above<\/p>\n<p>judgment     and    order  of   conviction  and    sentence<\/p>\n<p>CRA 1879\/03<br \/>\n<span class=\"hidden_text\">                            -:3:-<\/span><\/p>\n<p>challenged in this appeal.\n<\/p>\n<p>     3.    I have heard Sri Padayattee Yeldo, the learned<\/p>\n<p>counsel appearing for the appellant and also the learned<\/p>\n<p>Public Prosecutor.\n<\/p>\n<p>     4.    The learned counsel vehemently argued that the<\/p>\n<p>judgment of the trial court is absolutely illegal, improper<\/p>\n<p>and irregular and liable to be set aside. Though several<\/p>\n<p>factual grounds are taken in the memorandum of appeal,<\/p>\n<p>during the submissions the learned counsel confined his<\/p>\n<p>main argument to the competency and jurisdiction of<\/p>\n<p>PW1 to effect the seizure and arrest of the appellant\/<\/p>\n<p>accused. In support of the above argument, the counsel<\/p>\n<p>invited my attention to Section 70 of the Act and<\/p>\n<p>submitted that no notification has been issued by the<\/p>\n<p>Department or the Government conferring the requisite<\/p>\n<p>power on the Assistant Excise Inspectors.<\/p>\n<p>     5.    The point raised by the counsel assumes prime<\/p>\n<p>importance and as the same is capable to shake the very<\/p>\n<p>CRA 1879\/03<br \/>\n<span class=\"hidden_text\">                              -:4:-<\/span><\/p>\n<p>basis of the prosecution case, I am of the opinion that<\/p>\n<p>the said point can be considered as the first issue in this<\/p>\n<p>matter.\n<\/p>\n<p>     6.    The   learned    counsel    for   the   appellant<\/p>\n<p>emphatically submitted that PW1,        being the Assistant<\/p>\n<p>Excise Inspector, has no powers under Sections 40 to 53<\/p>\n<p>of the Act by virtue of Section 4(d) of the above Act.  It is<\/p>\n<p>also   his contention that there is no      notification  or<\/p>\n<p>Government Order, conferring such powers on Assistant<\/p>\n<p>Excise Inspector.\n<\/p>\n<p>     7. On the other hand, learned Public Prosecutor<\/p>\n<p>submitted that the Government has issued notification<\/p>\n<p>conferring powers upon the excise officials including the<\/p>\n<p>Assistant Excise Inspectors.          The learned Public<\/p>\n<p>Prosecutor submitted that when SRO Nos.233\/67 and<\/p>\n<p>234\/67 were issued, vide G.O.MS. No.356\/67\/Rev., dated<\/p>\n<p>10th August 1967, the post of Assistant Excise Inspector<\/p>\n<p>was not created in the Excise Department and, therefore,<\/p>\n<p>CRA 1879\/03<br \/>\n<span class=\"hidden_text\">                             -:5:-<\/span><\/p>\n<p>in the said notifications, the powers and duties of<\/p>\n<p>Assistant Excise Inspector were not mentioned. It is the<\/p>\n<p>further submission that the post of Assistant Excise<\/p>\n<p>Inspector was created with effect from 10.10.1985, and<\/p>\n<p>the powers and duties of Assistant Excise Inspectors<\/p>\n<p>were fixed and assigned only with effect from 12.10.88<\/p>\n<p>vide G.O.(MS) 142\/88 dated 12.10.88. The learned Public<\/p>\n<p>Prosecutor took me through the said Government Order<\/p>\n<p>and he made available to me a copy of the same for<\/p>\n<p>perusal. It is the further contention of the learned Public<\/p>\n<p>Prosecutor that the post of &#8220;Assistant Excise Inspector&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>will come in between the posts of &#8220;Excise Inspector&#8221; and<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Preventive Officer&#8221; and therefore, by virtue of their<\/p>\n<p>ranking itself, and especially, in the light of the<\/p>\n<p>notification SRO 234\/67, they are also authorised to<\/p>\n<p>discharge the functions and duties that assigned to Excise<\/p>\n<p>Inspectors, Preventive Officers and also to the Excise<\/p>\n<p>Guard.      Hence, according to the learned Public<\/p>\n<p>CRA 1879\/03<br \/>\n<span class=\"hidden_text\">                                -:6:-<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Prosecutor, the seizure and arrest effected by PW1, the<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Assistant Excise Inspector&#8221;, is in accordance with the<\/p>\n<p>powers conferred upon him and therefore, there is no<\/p>\n<p>illegality or lack of jurisdiction.\n<\/p>\n<p>     8.    In the light of the arguments advanced by the<\/p>\n<p>learned counsel for the appellant and the learned Public<\/p>\n<p>Prosecutor, the question to be considered is whether the<\/p>\n<p>Assistant Excise Inspector is an authorized    officer as<\/p>\n<p>envisaged by Section 4(d) and Section 70 of the Abkari<\/p>\n<p>Act. In order to consider the above question, the facts<\/p>\n<p>and circumstances involved in this case,          acquire<\/p>\n<p>relevance, which I shall state briefly. As stated earlier,<\/p>\n<p>the allegation is that the appellant\/accused was found in<\/p>\n<p>possession of three litres of arrack at about 3 PM on<\/p>\n<p>14.6.99 when PW1 and party were on patrol duty,<\/p>\n<p>especially, when the jeep in which they were travelling<\/p>\n<p>reached at Vattappara junction, they saw the accused<\/p>\n<p>coming from the opposite direction holding one plastic<\/p>\n<p>CRA 1879\/03<br \/>\n<span class=\"hidden_text\">                            -:7:-<\/span><\/p>\n<p>can and, on suspicion, the accused was intercepted and<\/p>\n<p>PW1, the Assistant Excise Inspector, inspected the can<\/p>\n<p>and found that the can contains three litres of liquor<\/p>\n<p>which, on smelling and tasting, identified as arrack. Thus,<\/p>\n<p>the accused was arrested and Ext.P1 mahazar was<\/p>\n<p>prepared and M.O-1 can which contained the arrack and<\/p>\n<p>the contraband article were seized. Thereafter PW1 and<\/p>\n<p>party returned to the excise office and registered Ext.P2<\/p>\n<p>crime report.     Accordingly, accused as well as the<\/p>\n<p>contraband article were produced before the Judicial First<\/p>\n<p>Class Magistrate, Devikulam. The property was produced<\/p>\n<p>as per Ext.P3 property list. Ext.P4 was also filed before<\/p>\n<p>the court with a request to forward the sample for<\/p>\n<p>chemical analysis. Ext.P5 is the chemical analysis report,<\/p>\n<p>thus obtained.      PWs 2 and 3 are the independent<\/p>\n<p>witnesses examined to prove the seizure and arrest, but<\/p>\n<p>they turned hostile. The only evidence available is that of<\/p>\n<p>the deposition of PW1 and the documents such as Exts.P1<\/p>\n<p>CRA 1879\/03<br \/>\n<span class=\"hidden_text\">                             -:8:-<\/span><\/p>\n<p>to P5. When PW1 was examined, he had deposed before<\/p>\n<p>the court during the chief examination itself that on<\/p>\n<p>14.6.99 he was in the Devikulam Excise Range office<\/p>\n<p>working as &#8220;Assistant Excise Inspector&#8221;.      He had also<\/p>\n<p>deposed in terms of the prosecution case and through him<\/p>\n<p>Ext.P1 seizure mahazar was marked. Besides that, Ext.P2<\/p>\n<p>crime report, Ext.P3 property list, Ext.P4 forwarding note<\/p>\n<p>and Ext.P5 Chemical Analysis report were also got<\/p>\n<p>marked through him.        MO1 was also identified and<\/p>\n<p>marked through PW1. During cross examination, he had<\/p>\n<p>stated that no superior officer was with him and he was in<\/p>\n<p>charge of the range. Absolutely, there is no evidence as<\/p>\n<p>to who conducted the investigation and who prepared<\/p>\n<p>final report\/complaint and      filed it in the court on<\/p>\n<p>conclusion of the investigation.\n<\/p>\n<p>     9.    Sections 3(2) and 3(6) of the Act define the<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Abkari Officer&#8221; and &#8220;Abkari Inspector&#8221; respectively.<\/p>\n<p>According to Section 3(2), &#8220;Abkari Officer&#8221; means the<\/p>\n<p>CRA 1879\/03<br \/>\n<span class=\"hidden_text\">                              -:9:-<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Commissioner of Excise or any officer or other person<\/p>\n<p>lawfully appointed or invested with powers under Sections<\/p>\n<p>4 or 5. &#8220;Abkari Inspector&#8221; means an officer appointed<\/p>\n<p>under section 4 clause (d). Section 4(d) says that the<\/p>\n<p>Government may, by notification in the Gazette, may<\/p>\n<p>appoint officers, to perform the acts and duties mentioned<\/p>\n<p>in Sections 40 to 53 inclusive of this Act. Section 70 of<\/p>\n<p>the Act specifically deals with conferring of powers and<\/p>\n<p>making of appointments, which reads as follows:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>                   &#8220;70. The conferring of powers<br \/>\n         and making of       appointments :-       All<br \/>\n         notification and orders conferring powers,<br \/>\n         imposing duties and making appointments<br \/>\n         under this Act may respectively refer to<br \/>\n         the persons concerned specially by name<br \/>\n         or in virtue of their office or to classes of<br \/>\n         officials generally by their official titles,<br \/>\n         and all courts shall take judicial notice<br \/>\n         thereof&#8221;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>     10. In this juncture, it is apposite to consider<\/p>\n<p>Section 50 which says     that report of Abkari Officer<\/p>\n<p>gives jurisdiction to a competent Magistrate. Sub-section<\/p>\n<p>CRA 1879\/03<br \/>\n<span class=\"hidden_text\">                            -:10:-<\/span><\/p>\n<p>2 of Section 50 says:\n<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>            &#8221; (2). As soon as investigation into the<br \/>\n       offences under this Act is completed, the<br \/>\n       Abkari Officer shall forward a Magistrate,<br \/>\n       empowered to take cognizance of the<br \/>\n       offence on a police report, a report in<br \/>\n       accordance with sub-section (2) of section<br \/>\n       173 of Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973<br \/>\n       (Central Act 2 of 1974&#8243;. (emphasis supplied)<\/p>\n<p>From Section 50, it is crystal clear that the court can take<\/p>\n<p>cognizance only upon the report field by an &#8220;Abkari<\/p>\n<p>Officer&#8221; on completion of the investigation as per the<\/p>\n<p>provisions of the Act.   In the present case, absolutely,<\/p>\n<p>there is no evidence as to who conducted the investigation<\/p>\n<p>and who filed the final report as contemplated under<\/p>\n<p>section 50 of the Act.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>     11. According to PW1, at the time of the detection<\/p>\n<p>of the offence, he was working as &#8220;Assistant Excise<\/p>\n<p>Inspector&#8221; in the Devikulam Excise Range Office. Though<\/p>\n<p>in paragraph 5 of the impugned judgment, it is stated that<\/p>\n<p>CRA 1879\/03<br \/>\n<span class=\"hidden_text\">                             -:11:-<\/span><\/p>\n<p>PW1 was the Excise Range Inspector, Devikulam, but in<\/p>\n<p>the appendix to the same judgment, showing the witness<\/p>\n<p>schedule, PW1 is shown as one Mr.M.K.Janardhanan and<\/p>\n<p>in the bracket it is shown as (AEI). So there is no scope<\/p>\n<p>for any dispute that the officer, who detected the crime<\/p>\n<p>and seized contraband article and arrested the accused,<\/p>\n<p>was PW1 who was working as &#8220;Assistant Excise<\/p>\n<p>Inspector&#8221; of the Devikulam range at the relevant time.<\/p>\n<p>Item No.8     of the     notification, i.e.S.R.O 234\/67 is<\/p>\n<p>relevant, which reads as follows:\n<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>             &#8220;In exercise of the powers conferred<br \/>\n       by Section 4 of the Abkari Act, 1 of 1077<br \/>\n       and of all other powers hereunto enabling<br \/>\n       and   in   supersession     of the   previous<br \/>\n       notifications    on     the    subject,   the<br \/>\n       Government of Kerala hereby appoint the<br \/>\n       officers mentioned in column (1) of the<br \/>\n       Schedule to exercise the powers and<br \/>\n       perform the duties specified in that column<br \/>\n       with jurisdiction over the areas specified<br \/>\n       against each in column (2) of the said<br \/>\n       schedule, namely:-\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>CRA 1879\/03<br \/>\n<span class=\"hidden_text\">                                        -:12:-<\/span><\/p>\n<p>                                Schedule<\/p>\n<p>             Officers and their powers                 Local jurisdiction<\/p>\n<p>                     and duties                               (2)<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"hidden_text\">                        (1)<\/span><\/p>\n<p>       xx    xx      xx       xx     xx         xx     xx        xx       xx<\/p>\n<p>8.   All officers of the Excise Department Within the areas for which they are<br \/>\n     not below the rank of Excise Inspectors &#8211; appointed&#8221;<br \/>\n     to perform the acts and duties mentioned<br \/>\n     in sections 40 to 53 inclusive of the Act.<\/p>\n<p>         (emphasis supplied)<\/p>\n<p>Further details in the notification show as to which of the<\/p>\n<p>category of the officers of the department will come under<\/p>\n<p>the definition of &#8220;Abkari Officers&#8221;. It is also relevant to<\/p>\n<p>note that in the said notification, officers appointed as<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Excise Inspectors&#8221;, &#8220;Circle Inspectors&#8221;, &#8220;Preventive<\/p>\n<p>Officers&#8221;, and &#8220;Excise Guards&#8221; were given specific powers<\/p>\n<p>CRA 1879\/03<br \/>\n<span class=\"hidden_text\">                           -:13:-<\/span><\/p>\n<p>and authorities. The &#8220;Assistant Excise Inspectors&#8221; were<\/p>\n<p>not given such powers. Public Prosecutor submitted that<\/p>\n<p>at the time of issuing SRO 234\/67, there was no post of<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Assistant Excise Inspector&#8221; and that is why that category<\/p>\n<p>of officers is not mentioned in the said SRO and it is<\/p>\n<p>further submitted by the learned Public Prosecutor that<\/p>\n<p>subsequently, the post of &#8220;Assistant Excise Inspectors&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>was created during the year 1985 and with effect from<\/p>\n<p>12.10.1988, the &#8220;Assistant Excise Inspectors&#8221; were also<\/p>\n<p>authorised to perform the duties of Excise Inspectors. In<\/p>\n<p>support of the above submission, the learned Public<\/p>\n<p>Prosecutor, after making available to me a copy of G.O<\/p>\n<p>(MS)    142\/88,  Taxes   Department      dated   12.10.88,<\/p>\n<p>submitted that the duties and responsibilities of the<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Assistant Excise Inspectors&#8221; in the Excise range is the<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;same&#8221; as those of the &#8220;Excise Inspectors&#8221;. It is also the<\/p>\n<p>submission of the Public Prosecutor that by virtue of the<\/p>\n<p>rank of &#8220;Assistant Excise Inspectors&#8221; above the rank of<\/p>\n<p>CRA 1879\/03<br \/>\n<span class=\"hidden_text\">                                -:14:-<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Preventive Officers&#8221;, it is only proper and reasonable to<\/p>\n<p>conclude that the &#8220;Assistant Excise Inspectors&#8221; have also<\/p>\n<p>powers as that         are enjoyed or conferred upon the<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Preventive officers&#8221;.\n<\/p>\n<p>     12. I am unable to accept the above contention. In<\/p>\n<p>view of Sections 3(2) and 3(6), there must be officers<\/p>\n<p>termed as &#8220;Abkari Officers&#8221; and &#8220;Abkari Inspectors&#8221; and<\/p>\n<p>especially, in view of Section 4(d), officers shall be<\/p>\n<p>appointed to perform the acts and duties mentioned in<\/p>\n<p>sections 40 to 53 inclusive of the Abkari Act. Section 70<\/p>\n<p>specifically    says    that  &#8220;all    notification and  orders<\/p>\n<p>conferring      powers,     imposing     duties   and  making<\/p>\n<p>appointments under this Act may respectively refer to the<\/p>\n<p>persons concerned specially by name or in virtue of their<\/p>\n<p>office or to classes of officials generally by their official<\/p>\n<p>titles, and all courts shall take judicial notice thereof&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p>(emphasis supplied). In the present case, no such notifications<\/p>\n<p>are produced and the materials which referred to above<\/p>\n<p>CRA 1879\/03<br \/>\n<span class=\"hidden_text\">                             -:15:-<\/span><\/p>\n<p>do not show that the &#8220;Assistant Excise Inspectors&#8221; are<\/p>\n<p>conferred with powers that contemplated under sections<\/p>\n<p>40 to 53.\n<\/p>\n<p>     13. On a reading of Section 50, it is crystal cleat that<\/p>\n<p>the court can take cognizance only upon a valid report<\/p>\n<p>filed by &#8220;competent officer after investigation of the case<\/p>\n<p>as provided under Section 50 of the Act&#8221;. Section 40<\/p>\n<p>deals with procedure on arrest and seizure. Section 41<\/p>\n<p>deals with disposal of persons arrested. Going by various<\/p>\n<p>provisions of the Act, it can be seen that vide powers are<\/p>\n<p>given to &#8220;Abkari Officers&#8221; and &#8220;Abkari Inspectors&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p>Besides that, section 50 is more particular that,       only<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;report of Abkari Officer&#8221; gives jurisdiction to a<\/p>\n<p>competent Magistrate and only on such report, the<\/p>\n<p>Magistrate can take cognizance.      In the present case,<\/p>\n<p>PW1 who was working as an Assistant Excise Inspector<\/p>\n<p>was not given powers under the above          provisions to<\/p>\n<p>effect seizure and investigation.      He was      also not<\/p>\n<p>CRA 1879\/03<br \/>\n<span class=\"hidden_text\">                                -:16:-<\/span><\/p>\n<p>competent due to absence of             conferment     of powers<\/p>\n<p>under section 50, to file &#8220;Report&#8221; or complaint. A trial<\/p>\n<p>conducted based upon a report of an incompetent officer<\/p>\n<p>will render as &#8220;non est.&#8221; A Division Bench of this Court in<\/p>\n<p>the decision in <a href=\"\/doc\/270135\/\">Varkey v. State of Kerala<\/a> (1993 (1) KLT<\/p>\n<p>72), held:\n<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>              &#8220;The consequence is that Excise Inspectors<br \/>\n        who filed the complaints in these cases had no<br \/>\n        authority to file such a complaint. The result is<br \/>\n        that the Sessions Court or the Special Court had<br \/>\n        no jurisdiction to take cognizance of the same.<br \/>\n        They could not have framed charge against the<br \/>\n        accused. The charge framed by them was without<br \/>\n        jurisdiction. The trial which    followed the said<br \/>\n        charge must be treated as non est, because it was<br \/>\n        done without jurisdiction.    If the trial was one<br \/>\n        held without jurisdiction, it cannot end in either<br \/>\n        conviction or acquittal. The court below ought to<br \/>\n        have discharged the accused under S.227 of the<br \/>\n        Code of Criminal Procedure&#8221;.\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>A Full Bench of this Court, as per its decision in <a href=\"\/doc\/937627\/\">Abdul<\/p>\n<p>Rehman v. State of Kerala<\/a> (1995(1) KLT 234(FB), has<\/p>\n<p>affirmed the decision of this Court            in Varkey&#8217;s case<\/p>\n<p>(1993(1) KLT 72) (cited         supra).    In   another Division<\/p>\n<p>Bench decision in          <a href=\"\/doc\/1805597\/\">Prabhakaran v. Excise Circle<\/p>\n<p>CRA<\/a> 1879\/03<br \/>\n<span class=\"hidden_text\">                                 -:17:-<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Inspector (1992 (2) KLT 860), it is held:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>              &#8220;Learned Public Prosecutor      informed  us,<br \/>\n        after   ascertaining   the     position   from the<br \/>\n        Government that no officer has been authorised<br \/>\n        by the State Government        as per the aforesaid<br \/>\n        clause(d). If so, the respondent has no authority<br \/>\n        to file a complaint for the offence under the NDPS<br \/>\n        Act. The corollary is that the Court of Sessions or<br \/>\n        Special     Court has no jurisdiction to take<br \/>\n        cognizance of the offence under the NDPS Act on<br \/>\n        such complaint. The charge framed against the<br \/>\n        petitioner is hence without jurisdiction.&#8221;\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>In the present case, the above provisions, and other<\/p>\n<p>materials referred to above would show that PW1 who<\/p>\n<p>was working as &#8220;Assistant Excise Inspector&#8221; was not a<\/p>\n<p>competent and authorised officer as contemplated by the<\/p>\n<p>provisions of the Abkari Act, especially, Section 4 (d) and<\/p>\n<p>Section 70 of the Act and therefore, the seizure and arrest<\/p>\n<p>made by PW1 was without authorization and jurisdiction.<\/p>\n<p>     14. It is to be noted that only three witnesses were<\/p>\n<p>examined by the prosecution out of which PWs 2 and 3<\/p>\n<p>were independent witnesses and they turned hostile. PW1<\/p>\n<p>has not stated as to who conducted the investigation and<\/p>\n<p>CRA 1879\/03<br \/>\n<span class=\"hidden_text\">                               -:18:-<\/span><\/p>\n<p>who filed the report. If that be so, in the absence of such<\/p>\n<p>details, the committal court has committed a grave<\/p>\n<p>mistake in taking cognizance.          Since the committal<\/p>\n<p>proceedings and taking cognizance itself were without<\/p>\n<p>jurisdiction, the trial court ought not have proceeded with<\/p>\n<p>such trial, especially, when PW1 has no power for seizure<\/p>\n<p>and arrest as contemplated by the Act.\n<\/p>\n<p>     15.    In the light of the above discussion and the<\/p>\n<p>materials considered and the provisions referred above,<\/p>\n<p>the judgment of the trial court is illegal, improper and<\/p>\n<p>irregular.     The    trial  itself   rendered   as   non-est.<\/p>\n<p>Consequently, the conviction and sentence             imposed<\/p>\n<p>against the appellant\/accused is liable to be set aside<\/p>\n<p>and he is      entitled to get     discharged from the case<\/p>\n<p>registered against him.\n<\/p>\n<p>           In the result, this appeal is allowed setting aside<\/p>\n<p>the conviction and sentence imposed against the appellant<\/p>\n<p>vide judgment dated 16.10.2003 in SC No.71\/02 of the<\/p>\n<p>CRA 1879\/03<br \/>\n<span class=\"hidden_text\">                             -:19:-<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Court of Additional Sessions Judge (Adloc-I), Thodupuzha,<\/p>\n<p>and discharging the appellant\/accused in the above case.<\/p>\n<p>The bail bond, if any, executed by the appellant\/accused is<\/p>\n<p>cancelled   and he is set at liberty.     The amount of<\/p>\n<p>Rs.12,500\/- deposited by the appellant towards the<\/p>\n<p>compliance of the condition imposed by this Court at the<\/p>\n<p>time of suspending the sentence is directed to be<\/p>\n<p>refunded to the appellant\/accused forthwith on his proper<\/p>\n<p>request.\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p>                                        V.K.MOHANAN<br \/>\n                                             JUDGE<\/p>\n<p>kvm\/-\n<\/p>\n<p>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Kerala High Court Subrahmaniyan vs State Of Kerala on 24 February, 2010 IN THE HIGH COURT OF KERALA AT ERNAKULAM CRL.A.No. 1879 of 2003() 1. SUBRAHMANIYAN, S\/O. GANAPATHY, &#8230; Petitioner Vs 1. STATE OF KERALA, &#8230; Respondent For Petitioner :SRI.PADAYATTEE YELDO For Respondent :PUBLIC PROSECUTOR The Hon&#8217;ble MR. Justice V.K.MOHANAN Dated :24\/02\/2010 O R D [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[8,21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-144995","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-high-court","category-kerala-high-court"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Subrahmaniyan vs State Of Kerala on 24 February, 2010 - Free Judgements of Supreme Court &amp; High Court | Legal India<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.legalindia.com\/judgments\/subrahmaniyan-vs-state-of-kerala-on-24-february-2010\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Subrahmaniyan vs State Of Kerala on 24 February, 2010 - Free Judgements of Supreme Court &amp; 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