9911796707
TMI Blog2001 (11) TMI 1047X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... tur, alongwith his staff and Sub-Inspector of Police, Proddatur II Town intercepted the jeep of the petitioner bearing No. TCK 1728 coming from Jinnah Road towards Mydukur and on verification found 18 card board boxes containing different varieties of liquor, which was non-duty paid and the petitioner failed to produce either permit or licence for transporting the contraband. Therefore, they arrested the petitioner, seized the property under cover Special Report, drawn samples from each variety and send it to the Chemical Examiner. The Analysis Report revealed that the samples are beer and Indian Liquor. Therefore, the petitioner was charge sheeted for transporting non-duty paid liquor. 2. To substantiate the charge, the prosecution examin ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... panch witness, the officials should have resorted to the provisions of Sec. 100(4) of the Code of Criminal Procedure (for brevity the Code). Therefore, for the above lapses, he contended that the conviction and sentence passed by the trial Court and confirmed by the appellate Court are liable to be set aside. 6. For better appreciation of the contentions, it is relevant to extract Section 55 of the A.P. Excise Act, 1968, which reads as under: "...Power to search without warrant: Whenever the Commissioner or a Collector or any Police Officer not below the rank of an Officer-in-charge of a Police Station or any Excise Officer not below the rank of an Excise Sub-Inspector, has reason to believe that an offence under section 34, 35, Sec ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... d thus the provisions of Sec. 54 of the Act were not at all complied with. 9. Section 54 of the Mysore Excise Act is analogous to Section 34 of the A.P. Excise Act. The Supreme Court in the above decision has held that the non-recording the grounds on the basis of which he had a reasonable belief that an offence under the Act was being committed before proceeding to search the car renders the entire search without jurisdiction and as a logical corollary vitiates the conviction. It is further observed that both Sections 53 and 54 of Mysore Excise Act contain valuable safeguards for the liberty of the citizen in order to protect them from ill-founded or frivolous prosecution or harassment. It was further observed that the point was taken bef ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ve come forward to act as panch witness, they should have resorted to Section 100(4) of the Code and passed a written order. It is expedient to have a glance of Section 100(4) of the Code for better appreciation of the facts involved in this case. "...PERSONS IN CHARGE OF CLOSED PLACE TO ALLOW SEARCH: (1)......... (2)......... (3)......... (4) before making a search under this Chapter, the officer or other person about to make it shall call upon two or more independent and respectable inhabitants of the locality in which the place to be searched is situate or any other locality if no such inhabitant of the said locality is available or is willing to be a witness to the search, to attend and witness the search and may issue an ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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