STATE OF MAHARASHTRA Vs. ARVIND AMBALAL PATEL

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The State through Assistant Collector, Central Excise, Kalyan Division II, Kalyan has filed this criminal appeal for enhancement of the sentence passed by the Learned Judicial Magistrate, First Class, Wada by his order dated 23-1-1980 in Case No. 46/78.

(2.) The respondent here, who will be referred to as the accused, was charged with offence under section 9(b), (bb), (bbb), and (c) of the Central Excise and Salt Act, 1944 (Act No. 1 of 1944). The prosecution case was that on 31-5-1975, the Inspector of Central Excise visited the ware house belonging to the accused and found :---

(3.) The accused pleaded guilty before the learned Magistrate and prayed for leniency. The learned Magistrate stated that the accused was the only earning member of his family, that this was his first offence, that there was no excise duty payable on Tobacco on the date on which the sentence was passed and that the accused was in a financially distressed situation. He, therefore, sentenced the accused to suffer simple imprisonment till rising of the Court and to pay a fine of Rs. 1000/-, in default to suffer rigorous imprisonment for one month. It is against this order that the State through Assistant Collector, Central Excise, Kalyan, District II, Kalyan has now approached this Court for enhancement.