JUDGMENT

Dated this the 30th day of September, 2020 The appellant is the accused in S.C. No.308/2003 on the file of the Additional Sessions Judge, (Adhoc)-I Kalpetta. The above case was chargesheeted by the Excise Inspector, Sulthan Bathery against the accused alleging offence punishable under Sections 55 (a) of the Kerala Abkari Act .

2. The prosecution case is that on 6.7.2001 at 3 p.m., the accused was found in possession of 3 litres of illicit arrack by the Excise Inspector and party who were on patrol duty. The offence was detected by PW1 who is the Excise Inspector of Sulthan Bathery.

3. To substantiate the case, the prosecution examined PW1 to PW5. Exts.P1 to P7 are the exhibits marked on the side of prosecution. M.O.1 is the material object marked by the prosecution. After going through the evidence and documents in this case, the trial court found that the accused committed the offence under Section 55 (a) of the Kerala Abkari Act .

Accordingly, the accused is sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for one year and to pay a fine of Rs. 1 lakh under Section 55 (a) of the Abkari Act. In default of payment of fine, the accused is directed to undergo rigorous imprisonment