This Criminal Appeal is preferred by the State, aggrieved by the order of acquittal passed by the Sessions Court, Kozhikode Division as per its judgment dated 20.11.2000 in Criminal Appeal No. 167 of 1997. The impugned order arose out of the judgment dated 19.8.1997 in C.C. No. 237 of 1994 of the Court of Judicial Magistrate of First Class – II Thamarassery. C.C. No. 237 of 1994 was instituted upon a complaint filed by the Forest Range Officer, Thamarassery alleging commission of offence under Section 27(1)(d) of the Kerala Forest Act as amended by Section 3 (iii)(d) of the Kerala Forest (Amendment) Ordinance, 1992 which was later repealed as per Kerala Forest (Amendment) Act, 1993.

2. The case of the complainant is that on 1.1994, on getting secret information that sandal wood oil was being illegally transported, the forest officials went to the Air Port at Karipur. From the Air Port premises, they recovered 460 kilograms of sandal wood oil which was kept for exporting to various foreign countries. On their detection and further investigation the forest officials found that such bulk quantity of sandal wood oil is belonging to the first accused firm of which the second a