MAHAVIR KUMAR SURANA Vs. ASST EXCISE COMMISSIONER

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This is an appeal filed by the writ petitioner against the judgment of the learned Single Judge in O.P. No. 2197 of 1995 dated 25-2-1993 dismissing the writ petition.

(2.) The appellant/writ petitioner is a person residing in the State of Rajasthan and he is the registered owner of a Goods vehicle (lorry) bearing No. RJ.01/G0.459 covered by a national permit. The driver of the vehicle is one Darbar Singh. While so the appellant hired his vehicle to M/s. Goodwill Transport Corporation, Indore for transportation of liquor bottles from M.P. Beer Products, New Industrial Area, Indore to Palakkad Depot of the Kerala Beverages Corporation Ltd. According to him the liquor bottles were transported in the above vehicle with all necessary documents. It is the case of the petitioner that the petitioner as well as the driver had taken all due care to avoid any contravention of law in relation to the transportation of the abkari item. His case is that the documents were signed by the responsible officers of the Excise Department.

(3.) When the vehicle was passing through the check post at Palakkad on 15-11-1992 it was restrained by certain persons on the basis of the information given by them to the Circle Inspector of Police, Palakkad Town. The police suspected that the documents that were being carried in the lorry were forged and a crime was registered as Crime No. 450 of 1992 under S.420, 408 and 471 read with S.34 of the Indian Penal Code along with S.58 of the Kerala Abkari Act. Since the Abkari offence was also included, the Circle Inspector of Police handed over the documents for the investigation by the officials of the Excise Department. The Excise Department registered a separate case, O.P. No. 38 of 1992 and thereby the vehicle came into the custody of the Excise officials.