Abkari Act

The State of Kerala prosecuted several accused for possession of large quantities of hashish oil, a commercial quantity under the NDPS Act. The High Court granted post‑arrest bail to the accused without recording the mandatory findings required by Section 37 of the NDPS Act. The State appealed, arguing that bail could …

Kandath Distilleries applied in 1987 for a licence to set up a distillery in Kerala. The State received many applications in 1998, granted licences to four applicants but rejected Kandath's, citing a policy of not issuing further licences. The High Court, after several interventions, issued a writ of mandamus directing…

The appellant, Sathyan, was arrested in October 2003 for carrying five litres of arrack in his autorickshaw and was convicted under Section 8 of the Abkari Act based solely on the testimony of two official witnesses, an Excise Inspector and an Assistant Excise Inspector. He challenged the conviction, arguing that the l…

The case concerned the conviction of two accused, Sajeev (A10) and Roy (A11), for their role in a conspiracy to mix methyl alcohol with spirit and sell it as illicit liquor, which caused seven deaths, eleven cases of blindness and injuries to over forty persons. The trial court and Kerala High Court convicted them unde…