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2002 DIGILAW 1350 (AP)

MALE RAMNADHAM v. State Of A. P.

2002-11-21

C.Y.SOMAYAJULU

body2002
C. Y. SOMAYAJULU, J. ( 1 ) THIS is a petition to quash the FIR in Crime No. 367/2002-03 of prohibition and Excise Station, Mahabubabad, warangal District, registered under section 7 (A) read with 8 (e) of A. P. Prohibition Act, 1995 read with Section 109 ipc, against the petitioners, shown as A2 and A3 therein. ( 2 ) THE case of the prosecution is that on information given by one Banothu saroja that petitioners have supplied black jaggery for preparation of illicit arrack, the excise police raided the premises bearing no. 1-3-112 and found 25 bags of black jaggery, one bag of alum and one bag of navasaram in the premises belonging to the petitioners and seized the said stock, and registered a case in Cr. No. 367/2000-03 against the said B. Saroja and petitioners. First petitioner is the owner of the premises bearing No. 1-3-112 and second petitioner is the clerk of the first petitioner. ( 3 ) THE contention of the learned Counsel for petitioners is that since possession and sale of black jaggery, alum and navasaram, which are not declared as intoxicants under Excise Act, per se is not an offence, and since the petitioners need not find out from the purchaser the purpose for which he is making the purchase, even if the purchaser makes use of the black jaggery purchased from the petitioners for illicit purposes, petitioners cannot be said to have abetted the offence of distilling illicit arrack by the purchaser, and so seizure of the stock of black jaggery, alum and navasaram from the premises of the petitioners and registering a crime against them is wholly unwarranted and unsustainable, and so the FIR is liable to be quashed. Heard the learned Additional Public Prosecutor, ( 4 ) BLACK jaggery, alum and navasaram are not declared as intoxicants under the provisions of the Excise Act. Possession and sale of black jaggery, alum and navasaram is neither controlled nor banned by any law in force in the State, and so, merely because a person stores black jaggery, alum and navasaram, which are some of the ingredients that would be used in preparation of illicit arrack, he cannot be said to have committed an offence under the provisions of the Excise Act. As rightly contended by the learned Counsel for petitioners, the vendor of black jaggery, alum and navasaram need not find out from the purchaser the purpose for which he is making the purchase. Even if the vendor makes an enquiriy from the purchaser the purpose of his purchase, the purchaser need not truly disclose the purpose of his purchase and can make use of the black jaggery, alum and navasaram purchased by him for some illict purpose. In such case, the vendor cannot be said to be guilty of abetment of the offence of preparation of illicit arrack by the purchaser of the stock. The fir does not disclose the necessary ingredients of abetment like instigation or conspiracy or active support1 by the petitioners in B, Saroja (A1) preparing illicit arrack, because mere sale of goods across the counter cannot be said to be instigation or conspiracy or active support So, even if all the allegations in the FIR are taken to be true, petitioners cannot be said to have committed an offence under Section 34 of the Excise Act, or abetment of such offence. Therefore, seizure of black jaggery, alum and Navasaram from the petitioners on the ground that the purchaser of the said items from the petitioners had made use of those items in the preparation of illicit arrack, is not proper. To elucidate, receptacles are very essential in preparation of illicit arrack. Just because the manufacturer of illicit arrack gives out the name of the vendor of the receptacles used in preparation of illicit arrack, the Excise officials raiding and seizing the entire stock of receptacles in the shop of the vendor of the receptacles sold to the manufacturer of illicit arrack and registering a case under section 34 of the Excise Act against the vendor cannot be upheld. So, the case of the vendor of black jaggery, alum and navasaram which are ingredients used in manufacture of illicit arrack, cannot be different. ( 5 ) THEREFORE, the petition is allowed and the FIR in Cr. No. 367/200-03 of prohibition and Excise Station, Mahabubabad, warangal District is quashed insofar as the petitioners, i. e. , A2 and A3 are concerned. The black jaggery, alum and navasaram seized from the petitioners shall be returned to them.