CHENNAI: Despite being caught red-handed while smuggling more than 400 bottles of liquor, an accused went scot-free. Reason: the police failed to file the final report within the stipulated time.
Holding that the continuation of the investigation would result in an abuse of the process of law, Justice N Anand Venkatesh quashed the FIR filed against the accused, who was detained for allegedly trafficking huge amounts of liquor bottles, and set him free.
On May 15, 2021, the Prohibition Enforcement Wing (PEW), Dharapuram, set up a vehicle checking point at Perumal Pudur to monitor illegal liquor trafficking. In a four-wheeler that they intercepted, the officials found 409 bottles of liquor.
The prosecution said the driver, T Senthil from Madathukulam, was trafficking the liquor to sell them in the black market. The PEW team seized the liquor bottles and the vehicle, and booked a case against the accused under Section 4 (1) (aa) of the Tamil Prohibition Act, and detained him for investigation.
After the accused moved the High Court seeking to quash the criminal charges booked against him, additional public prosecutor A Damodaran, who appeared for PEW, submitted that the final report was yet to be filed.
Following this, the judge pointed out that the maximum punishment under Section 4 (1) (aa) of the Tamil Prohibition Act was only three months. Hence, the final report ought to have been filed within a year, he said.
As it was not done in this case, the judge considered the facts and circumstances of the case and quashed the FIR against the accused.