SATHEESH @ SUNNY C: 6625 Vs. STATE OF KERALA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The accused in a prosecution for an offence punishable under section 8(2) r/w 8(1) of the Abkari Act is the appellant as he is aggrieved by the judgment dated 3.10.2011 in S.C.No.438 of 2010 of the court of Additional District and Sessions Judge (Ad hoc) Fast Track court-III, Pathanamthitta, by which the learned Judge convicted and sentenced the appellant for the said offence.

(2.) The prosecution case is that at 7 p.m. on 7.3.2002, the appellant/accused was found in possession of 5 ltrs. of arrack in a black plastic can with a glass tumbler in his hand at a place near the path way leading to rubber estate of one Babu at Chuzhanna in Ezhumattoor village and that the accused was found in possession of the same for sale in violation of the provisions of Abkari Act and thereby he has committed the offence punishable under section 8(2) r/w 8(1) of the Abkari Act. On the above allegation, crime no.26 of 2002 in the Perumpetty police station was registered for the said offence and on completing the investigation, the police laid charge before the court of Judicial First Class Magistrate-Thiruvalla, based upon which C.P.No.105 of 2010 was instituted and subsequently the case was committed to the Sessions Court-Pathanamthitta, where the same was received as S.C.No.438 of 2010 and subsequently the case is made over to the present trial court.

(3.) When the accused was produced from the judicial custody, Adv.Sri.P.S.Narendra Nath, as legal aid counsel has been appointed for him and thus after hearing the prosecution as well as the defence, the trial court framed a charge for the offence under section 8(2) r/w 8(1) of the Abkari Act against the accused and when the said charge read over to the accused, he pleaded not guilty.