E-Paper
Tarn Taran: 5 men let off in illicit liquor cases as police delay challans
The failure of police to file chargesheet in four cases of illicit liquor seizures registered between 2016 and 2018 led to the acquittal of five men in Tarn Taran
The failure of police to file chargesheet in four cases of illicit liquor seizures registered between 2016 and 2018 led to the acquittal of five men in Tarn Taran.
The development comes a year after around 140 people were killed while several others lost their vision after consuming illicit liquor in Tarn Taran, Amritsar and Gurdaspur.
The four cases in question were registered at the Tarn Taran City police station under the Excise Act. Police were supposed to file challans against the accused within one year or with a special sanction of the state government in case of delay. However, the chargesheets were submitted in the court of chief judicial magistrate (CJM) Rajesh Ahluwalia on Tuesday.
The five men are Sarwan Singh alias Bholu (50), Akash Rajput (23), Sakattar Singh (44), Sukhwinder Singh, alias Sethi (35), and Baljit Singh, alias Katta (32), of Tarn Taran. They had been out on bail.
Sarwan was booked after the alleged recovery of 200 litres of raw alcohol in May 2017. Akash was allegedly nabbed with 10 bottles of illicit liquor in October 2017, and Sakkattar was booked for allegedly carrying nine bottles of illicit liquor in April 2016. Sukhwinder and Baljit were arrested with 106 bottles of illicit liquor in September 2018.
Citing provisions under Section 75 of the Punjab Excise Act, 1914, the court noted that no judicial magistrate shall take cognisance of such offences unless the prosecution is instituted within a year after the date on which the offence is alleged to have been committed or there is a special sanction.
“There is no such sanction obtained by the prosecution for filing the challan beyond the period of limitation... Accordingly, the accused is discharged,” the judge said.
Slamming the police apathy, senior advocate Sarabjit Singh Verka said action should be taken against those who failed to discharge their duty. “This could be just the tip of the iceberg. There may be many such cases in which challans were not filed on time,” he said.
Senior superintendent of police OS Ghumman said: “The matter is not in my attention. I will check and seek a report. We have zero tolerance against all those involved in illicit liquor trade.”
