STATE OF KERALA Vs. NARASIMHA BHATTA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The State has filed this appeal. On 8-8-60 Pw. 1 the Excise Inspector seized from the possession of the accused 21 bottles of Dashmoolarishta, 11 bottles of Arjunarishta & 30 bottles of Asokamritharishta. Ex. P1 is the mahazar. One bottle from each of the three varieties were sent to the Chemical Analyst. His certificate Ex-P2 disclosed that Dashmoolarishta contained 7% alcohol, Arujunarishta 8% alcohol and Asokamritharishta 6% of alcohol. The accused was, therefore, prosecuted under S.8(1)(a) of the Travancore-Cochin Prohibition Act (hereinafter referred to as the Act) for being in possession of medicinal preparations containing alcohol.

(2.) The recovery and possession are admitted. The case of the accused is that he got the bottles from Sivananda Ayurvedic Pharmaceutical Works, Rishikesh. In proof of the same he has produced Exs-D1 and D2 booklet and invoice from the company. The bottles contained a label that they were free from alcohol. On a consideration of the evidence the learned Magistrate acquitted the accused on the two grounds, firstly that there is no evidence that the sample bottles sent by Pw. 1 were from out of the .stock seized from the accused, and secondly on the ground that the Asavas and Arishtas cannot be classified as liquor.

(3.) S.8 (1) (a) reads as follows