JUDGMENT

PUNCHHI, J. :- These are two criminal appeals arising out of the judgment and orders of the High Court of Kerala dated April 9, 1990. passed in Criminal Appeal No. 416 of 1985. The respective appellants herein are Joseph Kurian, A-4 and Philip Jose, A-1 described as such in the Courts below.

2. These appeals arise out of a phase of sporadic incidents referred in Kerala as the "Punalur Liquor Tragedy" in which certain person died and others received injuries due to consumption of poisonous adulterated arrack, ethyl alcohol adulterated with methyl alcohol. pursuant to wide spread rumours of poisonous arrack sales, the Circle Inspector of Police, Punalur on 19-2-1981 raided a few pan shops in the town and seized small polythene pouches containing arrack kept for unauthorised sale supplied by Punalur arrack depot. Two cases were registered on the basis of the said recovery. The following day on 20th February, 1981, the Sub-Inspector of Police, Punalur effected a search of the arrack depot at Punalur controlled and managed by A-1 and took samples of arrack in order to have them tested by chemical analysis. Case under Section 272, I.P.C. and Section 57(a) of the Kerala Abkari Act