K RAVINDRANATHAN Vs. ADDITIONAL EXCISE COMMISSIONER, (ENFORCEMENT) TRIVANDRUM

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner has approached this Court impugning Ext.P5 order, issued by the Commissioner of Excise, Kerala, confiscating two vehicles, bearing Regn.Nos.KL-9-T-5004 and KL-9-T-9567, which were alleged to have been illegally carrying 2250 litres of toddy. I see from the materials on record that the vehicles in question were seized by the Sub Inspector of Police, Chittur and that two persons were arrested by the said authority.

(2.) It transpires from the records that an abkari case, numbered as C.R.No.57/2008, was registered with the Chittur Police Station, under Section 55(a) of the Abkari Act and that the vehicles were subsequently produced before the authorised officer, namely the Assistant Excise Commissioner of Palakkad, on 25.07.2008. The pleadings available on the files of this case would show that the Deputy Commissioner of Excise, after adhering to the procedural formalities, confiscated the vehicles to the Government under Section 67B of the Abkari Act, by an order dated 17.01.2011.

(3.) When the confiscation order was issued by the Deputy Commissioner, the petitioner, claiming to be the registered owner of the vehicles, invoked the appellate remedy by filing a statutory appeal before the Additional Excise Commissioner (Enforcement), which was rejected, thus further constraining him to approach the Commissioner of Excise, Kerala, by a further statutory revision, which culminated in Ext.P5 again against him. The petitioner says that Ext.P5 is contrary to law and is, therefore, unsustainable.