High Court upholds acquittal in liquor-transport case after 19 years
Police in Kangra district prosecuted a jeep driver for carrying 58 boxes of country liquor and five boxes of beer; a Jawali magistrate convicted him in 2007 and an appellate court acquitted him in 2013. On 24 September 2026 the Himachal Pradesh High Court dismissed the State's appeal, holding the sample evidence could not prove the contents were liquor.
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How we verify →Acquittal upheld on 24 September 2026, 19 years after the trial-court conviction.
What happened
The High Court recorded that police found 58 boxes of country liquor, each with 12 pouches of 750 ml, and 5 boxes of beer in a Mahindra jeep.
The Sub-Divisional Judicial Magistrate, Jawali convicted the driver on 01.02.2007; the Additional Sessions Judge, Kangra at Dharamshala acquitted him on 04.06.2013 and the State appealed.
The High Court held the chain of sampling was not proved, so the analysis report could not establish that the bottles and pouches held liquor, and that the appellate court's view was reasonable.
The High Court dismissed the appeal on 24 September 2026.
What the record says
“In view of the above, the present appeal fails, and it is dismissed.”
Cr. Appeal No. 4250 of 2013, Himachal Pradesh High Court, judgment dated 24.09.2026, para 33 — read the full text
No complaining victim
Possessing or carrying liquor harms no complaining victim; the case was pursued only under excise or prohibition law.
What we could not confirm
The trial record of 2007 was not read; the facts are as recorded in the High Court judgment.