A KARTHYAYANI Vs. STATE REPRESENTED BY THE PUBLIC

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The appellant is the accused in S.C.No. 487/1999 of Additional Sessions Court (Adhoc I), Kasargod. She was convicted under Section 55(a) and 55(g) of Abkari Act and was sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for three years and to pay a fine of Rs. 1,00,000/-, in default, to undergo rigorous imprisonment for six months under each count. The substantive sentences were ordered to run concurrently. The accused has now come up in appeal challenging her conviction and sentence.

(2.) The case of the prosecution as shaped in evidence before the trial court was that on 1/10/1997 at about 6.30 A.M. , the accused was found distilling 1 litre of illicit arrack using 10 litres of wash in the thatched portion of her house bearing door No.VII/386 in Pullur-Periya panchayat of Periya village and that thereby committed the offences punishable under Section 55(a) and 55(g) of Abkari Act.

(3.) When the accused appeared before the committal court i.e. Judicial First Class Magistrate Court II, Kasargod, copies of the documents relied on by the prosecution were furnished. As the offence under Section 55(a) and 55(g) are exclusively triable by the court of Sessions, the case was committed to the Sessions Court, Kasargod from where it was made over to the Assistant Sessions Court, Hosdurg and later made over to the trial court for trial and disposal.