Bohar Singh v. State of Punjab

CORAM:- HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE A.N.JINDAL Present: None for the petitioner. Mr.O.P.Dabla, Deputy Advocate General, Punjab, for the respondent-State. ***** A.N.JINDAL, J: Challenge in this petition is to the judgment dated 25.01.2005, passed by the Appellate Court, dismissing the appeal against the judgment dated 03.09.2003, passed by Judicial Magistrate Ist Class, Faridkot, convicting and sentencing the petitioner-accused (herein referred as 'the petitioner') to undergo rigorous imprisonment for a period of two years and to pay a fine of Rs.5,000/- under Section 61(1)(c) of the Punjab Excise Act, 1914 (for brevity 'the Act'). However, in appeal, the sentence was reduced to one year. The allegations against the petitioner are that he was apprehended while operating the working still and thereby distilling illicit liquor in his house. The 20 kgs lahan, two pieces of wood, implements of working still and illicit liquor were recovered from his possession. He was charged, tried and ultimately convicted and sentenced accordingly. His appeal also failed with modification in the sentence. Heard. Sufficient evidence has been led in order to establish Criminal Revision No.378 of 2005 -2- the charge against the petitioner. The evidence, on the basis of which findings of fact have been returned by the Courts below, appears to have been appreciated in the right perspective. No such illegality much less irregularity was found which may result into miscarriage of justice and cause any prejudice to the petitioner, therefore, these findings do not call for any interference at this revisional stage. Now coming to the quantum of sentence, it is noticed that the occurrence is of the year 2000; the petitioner has already suffered a lot of agony on account of the protracted proceedings pending in the Courts for the last ten years; he has already undergone about 2 ½ months of the substantive sentence, therefore, it would be in the fitness of things to reduce the sentence to some extent. Resultantly, this petition is dismissed with the modification in the sentence which is reduced to six months without any alteration in the sentence of fine. Copy of the order be sent to the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Faridkot, for compliance.

18.11.2010 mamta-II (A.N.Jindal) Judge