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2015 (12) TMI 1035 - HC - Indian LawsCommission of offence under Section 55(a) of the Kerala Abkari Act - Seizure of vehicle - Held that:- petitioner has failed to discharge his burden and that a bare statement that he had no knowledge of or complicity in the alleged crime is not sufficient to discharge the burden under Section 67C (2) of the Act. - burden cast on the owner of the vehicle under Section 67C(2) of the Act is a positive one. As has been rightly observed by the appellate authority, a mere passive denial is not sufficient. But the totality of the circumstances give rise to, in my opinion, an unmistakable conclusion that the petitioner, the owner of a private vehicle, belongs to a different State; by no imagination can he be said to be deliberately indulging in transporting liquor of meagre quantity from Karanataka to Kerala through his driver or otherwise. - driver, at the behest of the travelers or otherwise, purchased liquor meant, apparently, for personal consumption. Accepting the said sequence of events which are quite probable, it is hard to believe that the petitioner has any knowledge of, much less any complexity in, the offence alleged to have been committed by his driver. - petitioner has, in fact, discharged his burden under Section 67C(2) of the Act and thus deserved release of the vehicle in his favour. - Decided in favour of assessee.
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