CHHINDA AND ANR. Vs. THE STATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE Petitioners before me, Chhinda and Kundu, are boys of mere 15 and 16 years of age, respectively. They stand convicted under Section 61(1)(c) of the Punjab Excise Act for which each of them has been sentenced for six months and a fine of Rs. 200. In default of payment of fine they have been directed to undergo further rigorous imprisonment for three months each. Their conviction and sentence having been confirmed by the Additional Sessions Judge, Jullundur, they have come up in revision.

(2.) ACCORDING to the prosecution allegations, about 1 -30 p.m. on 9th January, 1968, when Assistant Sub -Inspector Hazara Singh was on patrol duty at the bus stand Phillaur, he received some secret information about the distillation of illicit liquor. Thereupon he proceeded to the place of the alleged distillation. He claims that in. the way he came across Excise Inspector, Madan Gopal and Bawa Singh of village Nagar. The party proceeded to the well of Chhinda. Petitioner and there they found both the Petitioners engaged in working a still for the distillation of illicit liquor. It is alleged that at that time Chhinda was changing water in the cooler while Kundu was feeding the fire. Both of them were apprehended at the spot and after dismantling the still its component parts were taken into possession.

(3.) CHANAN Singh, D.W. 3. claimed that Kundu Petitioner was his servant. He, however, stated that on the day of occurrence when the police visited the tube -well of Chhinda, Kundu was with him and nothing was recovered from the kotha at the tubewell of Chhinda in his presence. In fact, he asserted that the various component parts of still were collected from a nearby field and planted on the Petitioners. He, however, did not approach any authority to protest against this false implication. Both the courts below have rejected these pleas as untenable and accepted the prosecution allegation that the Petitioners were caught red -handed while distilling illicit liquor.