MAHESH BHAGWATI, V.J. - (1.) THIS order governs the disposal of bail application filed under Section 439 of Cr.P.C. by Mr. Manphool Ram, Advocate on behalf of the applicants pertaining to F.I.R. No. 119/2007 of police station Sawar, District Ajmer in the offences under Sections 19/54 of Rajasthan Excise Act.
(2.) HEARD the 'learned Counselfor the petitioners as also the learned Public Prosecutor for the State and perused the material on record. Learned Counsel for the petitioners has canvassed that 11280 quarters of country liquor and 22178 quarters of James Bond Dry gin is alleged to have been recovered from a community centre, situated in village Sawar. This community centre was of the whole community of the village but it was being maintained by the Sarpanch of the village. The police has utterly failed to connect the petitioners' possession over the recovered said quarters of liquor in the instant case. The so -called recovery of 11280 quarters of country liquor and 22178 quarters of James Bond Dry gin has not been made from their conscious or unconscious possession of the petitioners. The petitioners have been falsely implicated in this case and have no connection with the commission of the offence. The petitioners have been in custody for last one and half months. The case is still pending for investigation which is likely to take time to complete. The offence is triable by the Court of Judicial Magistrate, First Class and as such, the petitioners may be granted indulgence of bail.
(3.) LEARNED Public Prosecutor has vociferously opposed the bail petitioner primarily on the ground that the petitioners had been absconding since registration of the case. They filed many complaints against the investigating officers and thus the investigation of the case was transferred from one officer to the other by senior police authorities during a period of last two years. The police found the petitioners to be the accused of this case on 29.9.2007, after recording the statement of one Akshay Raj, who was looking after the community centre and who had handed over the keys of the community centre to the petitioners on their demand for their personal use. The petitioners had been absconding earlier and causing interruption in the investigation and this is reason that the investigation could not be completed till date. Keeping in view the huge quantity of liquor recovered from the possession of the petitioners, the bail petition should be dismissed.;