BALWANT SINGH Vs. STATE OF HARYANA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) ON September 13, 1982 Assistant Sub Inspector Rameshwar Parshad was present in the area of village Sakra along with other police officials when he received secret information that the petitioner was distilling illicit liquor by working a still in his fields. On this information a ruqa was sent to the police station for registration of a case and the field of the petitioner was raided where he was caught red handed, distilling illicit liquor. He was having a receiving bottle in his hand at the time of his apprehension. The still was cooled and dismantled and articles of still were seized vide a recovery memo which also contained a drum, used as a boiler, having 12 kilograms of lahan. Sample was separated from the receiver bottle which was got chemically examined. The contents of the drum were tested by the Excise Inspector and after completion of the investigation the petitioner was charge-sheeted for an offence under Section 61(1)(c) of the Punjab Excise Act.

(2.) AT trial the prosecution examined Ram Kumar Excise Inspector PW 1, Rameshwar Parshad Sub Inspector PW 2 and Hukam Singh PW 3. Affidavits of formal witnesses were also tendered in evidence.

(3.) I have heard Mr. V.K. Jain, Senior Advocate with Mr. Ajay Aggarwal, Advocate, counsel for the petitioner and Mr. S.S. Gill, Assistant Advocate General, Haryana for the respondent and have perused the record.