AJMER SINGH Vs. STATE OF PUNJAB

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS Revision Petition has been directed against the judgment and order dated 21.2.1989 passed by the Judicial Magistrate Ist Class, Patti whereby the petitioner was held guilty of an offence under Section 61(1)(c) of the Punjab Excise Act, 1914, was sentenced to undergo RI for a period of two years and to pay a fine of Rs. 2,000/- in default whereof he was required to undergo RI for for six months, as well as against the judgment dated 3.3.1990, whereby his appeal against the aforesaid judgment and order was dismissed by the Additional Sessions Judge, Amritsar.

(2.) AS per the prosecution case, while a police party was patrolling on the eastern side of Village Kambo Dhaiwala on 19.1.1986, it noticed smoke coming from the side of the river. On suspicion, the police party went to the site of smoke and when it reached on the bank of the river Beas, it found the petitioner distilling illicit liquor by means of a working still. The still was dismantled and cooled down whereupon a drum containing 100 kilograms of lahan was dug out. Some more drums each containing 150 kilograms of lahan were also lying by the side of the still. The aforesaid incident led to the registration of the FIR Exhibit P8/1 and consequential trial of the petitioner which finally culminated into his conviction and sentence by the learned JMIC, Patti, a reference to which has already been made above. Since the appeal filed by the petitioner against his conviction and sentence was also dismissed, he moved this revision petition which was admitted on March 21, 1990 and the petitioner was admitted to bail.

(3.) ON the other hand, Ms. R.K. Nihalsinghwala, learned Deputy Advocate General opposed the petitioner's contention regarding invoking the provisions of Probation of Offenders Act and contends that a heavy quantity of lahan having been recovered, the order of sentence passed by the learned Additional Sessions Judge, deserves to be maintained.