BUDITHI SUBBARAO Vs. STATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) CRIMINAL Revision Case is filed against the judgment dated 11.2.2009 in Crl.A.No.2 of 2007 on the file of the Principal Sessions Court, Puducherry, modifying the judgment of conviction and confirming the sentence, dated 13.12.2006 in C.C.No.10 of 2004 on the file of the Subordinate Judge's Court/Assistant Sessions Court-cum-Judicial Magistrate, Yanam.

(2.) THE trial Court convicted the revision petitioner/accused for the offence under Section 38(1 and 2) of the Pondicherry Excise Act, 1970 and sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for three months and to pay fine of Rs.10,000/-, in default, to undergo simple imprisonment for one months, and the appellate Court modified the conviction of the revision petitioner/accused by convicting him for the offence under Section 38(2) read with 33 of the Pondicherry Excise Act, 1970, instead of Section 38(1 and 2) of the Act and sentenced him to undergo the imprisonment as awarded by the trial Court.

(3.) CHALLENGING the judgment of the Courts below, learned counsel appearing for the revision petitioner/accused submitted that in the trial Court, totally six witnesses were examined, out of whom, P.Ws.5 and 6 are investigating officers and P.Ws.1 and 2 are the attestors of seizure mahazar and they have not identified the accused and they are not the eye-witnesses and P.Ws.3 and 4 who are alleged to be the eye-witnesses, of whom, P.W.3 turned hostile and only on the basis of the evidence of P.W.4, the conviction has been passed, as there was enmity between the revision petitioner/accused and P.W.4 and earlier, the petitioner/accused gave complaint for the offence under Section 353 IPC against the P.W.4, which case ended in acquittal, and so, he wanted to robe the petitioner in the present criminal case and he gave a false report. He further submitted that P.W.5 has clearly conceded that he does not know Telugu, whereas the statement of witnesses had been recorded by one Ramana Rao, the VAO, but the said VAO was not examined, and so, he prayed for setting aside the conviction and sentence.