IN THE HIGH COURT OF MADHYA PRADESH AT INDORE BEFORE HON'BLE SHRI JUSTICE SANJEEV S KALGAONKAR

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ON THE 18 OF FEBRUARY, 2026 MISC. CRIMINAL CASE No. 54117 of 2023 NAHARSINGH Versus THE STATE OF MADHYA PRADESH Appearance:

Ms. Pooja Vaktariya - Advocate for the petitioner. Shri Romil Verma- Public Prosecutor for the State.

ORDER

1. This petition under section 482 of the Cr.P.C is filed quashing the FIR at Crime no 466 of 2023, registered at Police Station – Taal, District - Ratlam for offence punishable under section 34(2) of the M.P. Excise Act and all consequential proceedings arising thereof.

2. The exposition of facts giving rise to present petition is as under :

A. A.S.I. Mohan Bhati of Police Check-Post, Karwakala received secret information that one Swift Desire Car bearing registration no. MP-09- CM-0290 is transporting illicit liquor. Accordingly, a Police Check-Post was installed near Village – Aabpura on 11/09/2023. This Swift Desire Car was intercepted. Praveen Singh was driving the vehicle. Mitthu Singh was passenger in the vehicle. The country-made plan liquor, total quantity 180 bulk liters was recovered on search of the car. The illicit country-made plan liquor and the vehicle were seized from joint possession of Praveen Singh and Mitthu Singh as they could not produce any valid permit or licence for transportation of the liquor. The Police Station – Taal registered FIR at Crime no. 466 of 2023 for offence punishable under section 34(2) of the M.P. Excise Act. Praveen Singh and Mitthu Singh were arrested. They informed that they had procured the illicit liquor from Rajendra Singh Panwar, Salesman of local liquor shop. They further informed that they had purchased the illicit liquor at the instruction of Nahar Singh Panwar and they were transporting it for delivery to Nahar Singh Panwar. Accordingly, Nahar Singh Panwar was apprehended on 14/12/2023. His statement under section 27 of the Evidence Act was recorded. He informed that he is working at the liquor shop of Village – Richha Devada. He had asked Praveen Singh and Mitthu Singh to get the illicit liquor from Rajendra Singh. The final report was submitted on completion of investigation.

3. Learned counsel for the petitioner, in addition to the grounds mentioned in the petition, submits that the petitioner is implicated on the basis of information memo recorded under section 27 of the Evidence Act. Learned counsel further referring to the judgment of Privy Council in the case of Pulukari Kottaya Vs. King-Emperor reported in AIR 1947 PC 67 contends that unless there is discovery of any object pursuant to the information, the information memo do not make out an offence. No case is made out against the petitioner, therefore, the impugned FIR deserves to be quashed.

4. Per-contra, learned counsel for the State submits that the impugned FIR and the material on record prima-facie establishes the complicity of the petitioner in the alleged offence. Praveen Singh and Mitthu Singh were transporting the illicit liquor at the direction of petitioner Nahar Singh Panwar. The petition is meritless.

5. Heard learned counsel for the parties and perused the record.

6 . The Supreme Court in case of State of Haryana vs. Ch. Bhajan Lal, reported in AIR 1992 SC 604 after an elaborate consideration of the matter and after referring to its various earlier decisions, has observed in para

108 as under:-

''108. In the backdrop of the interpretation of the various relevant provisions of the Code under Chapter XIV and of the principles of law enunciated by this Court in a series of decisions relating to the exercise of the extraordinary power under Article 226 or the inherent powers under Section 482 of the Code which we have extracted and reproduced above, we give the following categories of cases by way of illustration wherein such power could be exercised either to prevent abuse of the process of any Court or otherwise to secure the ends of justice, though it may not be possible to lay down any