HC: Excise trial against Ghira abuse of law

Saurabh Malik

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, July 31

Six years after Punjab Deputy Superintendent of Police Raka Ghira was booked under the Excise Act, the Punjab and Haryana High Court today made it clear that an Excise Officer could only proceed against an accused in cases involving liquor.

Justice AB Chaudhari also held that the filing of the FIR, challan and charge-sheet against Ghira was without any authority of law and “void ab initio” or invalid. “The criminal case trial must be held to be the abuse of process of law,” Justice Chaudhari added.

Justice Chaudhari also allowed her petition for the quashing of the FIR lodged at the Sector 11 police station on July 24, 2011, under the provisions of the Punjab Excise Act applicable to Chandigarh, along with all consequential proceedings, including the final report, order framing charge and chargesheet framed on May 12, 2014.

Her counsel Isha Goyal had earlier submitted that some bottles of IMF liquor were seized after a raid was conducted at her house, wherein “other members of the family were having liquor licences in their favour”. Her counsel asserted that the police (CBI) were lacking the power even to lodge an FIR much less to prosecute any person, under the amended provisions of the Act applicable to Chandigarh. She said the power had been given to the Excise Officer in cases where only liquor was involved. The police had the power to proceed only if intoxicants other than liquor were seized from the accused. In the instant case, IMFL bottles were seized from the house, and no other intoxicant, according to the prosecution itself. 

Justice Chaudhari observed that the trial was already on. In the ordinary course, the court would not have interfered, but the question of law raised in the petition had already been decided in two decisions. It was not in the dispute that the provisions of the amended Act were fully applicable to the UT, where the offence allegedly took place.

Referring to the decisions, Justice Chaudhari asserted that the police authorities in the UT and the CBI, which lodged the FIR, filed the challan and was prosecuting the petitioner, were sans any authority of law. It was clearly with the Excise Officer.

“Careful perusal of the two decisions rendered by this court, in my respectful agreement, shows that the prosecution in question was launched in the absence of authority in the respondent Police Department and therefore, the same is null and void and without authority of law,” Justice Chaudhari added.

Before parting with the order, Justice Chaudhari ruled the continuation of the trial would be an exercise in futility.