Rajendran vs State Of Kerala
2021 Latest Caselaw 9352 Ker

                IN THE HIGH COURT OF KERALA AT ERNAKULAM

                                PRESENT

          THE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE B.SUDHEENDRA KUMAR

     FRIDAY, THE 19TH DAY OF MARCH 2021 / 28TH PHALGUNA, 1942

                         CRL.A.No.1134 OF 2007

   AGAINST THE ORDER/JUDGMENT IN SC 13/2006 DATED 30-05-2007 OF
         ADDITIONAL SESSIONS COURT (ADHOC)-II, THODUPUZHA


APPELLANT/S:

                RAJENDRAN, S/O. NARAYANAN,
                PUTHENPARAMBIL VEEDU, KAMBLIKANDAM KARA,, KONNATHADY
                VILLAGE.

                BY ADVS.
                SRI.C.M.TOMY
                SRI.MATHEW SKARIA

RESPONDENT/S:

                STATE OF KERALA,
                REP. BY PUBLIC PROSECUTOR, HIGH COURT OF KERALA,,
                ERNAKULAM.

                R1 BY PUBLIC PROSECUTOR

OTHER PRESENT:

                SMT. M. K. PUSHPALATHA, SR.PP

     THIS CRIMINAL APPEAL HAVING BEEN FINALLY HEARD ON 19.03.2021,
THE COURT ON THE SAME DAY DELIVERED THE FOLLOWING:
 CRL.A.No.1134 OF 2007

                           2

                        JUDGMENT

The appellant was convicted and sentenced by the

court below under Section 55 (i) of the Abkari Act.

2. The prosecution allegation is that on 11.12.2003

at about 2.50 p.m., the appellant was found in

possession of 7.750 litres of Indian Made Foreign

Liquor for the purpose of sale in contravention of the

provisions of the Abkari Act.

3. Heard.

4. The learned counsel for the appellant has

argued that since there was long and unexplained

delay in producing the contraband and the samples

before the court, the appellant is entitled to be

acquitted.

5. The incident in this case was on 11.12.2003. CRL.A.No.1134 OF 2007

Ext.P4 is the property list which would show that the

contraband and the samples were produced before the

court only on 07.01.2004. PW1 produced the

contraband and the samples before the court. He

stated that the contraband and the samples were

produced before the court only on 07.01.2004. No

reason was stated by PW1 for the delay in producing

the contraband and the samples before the court.

6. The delay as such is not always fatal to

the prosecution case. However, if there is unexplained

delay, the same is, no doubt, fatal to the prosecution

case. In this case, since there was long and unexplained

delay from 11.12.2003 to 07.01.2004 in producing the

contraband and the samples before the court, there

cannot be any guarantee that the samples produced CRL.A.No.1134 OF 2007

before the court and analysed in the laboratory were

the samples drawn from the contraband seized from

the appellant. Consequently, there is no link evidence

to connect the appellant with the samples analysed in

the laboratory. In the said circumstances, the

conviction and sentence passed by the court below

relying on Ext.P6 certificate of Chemical Analysis

cannot be sustained.

In the result, this Criminal Appeal stands allowed,

setting aside the conviction and sentence passed by the

court below and the appellant stands acquitted. The

bail bond of the appellant stands discharged.

Needless to state that if the appellant had already

deposited any amount before the trial court pursuant CRL.A.No.1134 OF 2007

to the direction of this Court, the appellant is entitled

to reimbursement of the said amount from the court

concerned.

Sd/-

B.SUDHEENDRA KUMAR JUDGE

RK/19.03.2021