GURNAM SINGH Vs. STATE OF PUNJAB

JUDGEMENT

(1.) BY judgment and order dated 7th October, 1977, the Judicial Magistrate I Class Amritsar, convicted and sentenced the Petitioner under Section 61(1)(c) of the Punjab Excise Act to undergo rigorous imprisonment for nine months and to pay a fine of Rs. 2,000/ or in default of fine, to undergo further rigorous imprisonment for lour months. The learned Additional Sessions Judge, Amritsar, on appeal maintained the conviction and sentence of fine, but reduced the sentence of imprisonment from nine months to six months. Hence the present revision.

(2.) ACCORDING to the prosecution story, on receipt of a secret information, H.C. Gurdip Singh, on 11th January, 1976, formed a raid party consisted of Dev Raj, Excise Inspector and other police officials and conducted raid at the house of the Petitioner in village Mustafabad and apprehended him red banded when he was feeding fire under the still. The still was cooled and dismantled and its components were taken into possession. The case registered against the Petitioner. He was prosecuted and convicted and sentenced as aforesaid.

(3.) AT the trial the Petitioner denied his complicity in the crime and pleaded false implication. He gave his own version regarding the incident which is as under: -