State of Gujarat vs REKHABEN URFE ARATIBEN CHANDUBHAI VASHARAMBHAI VAGHELA Advocate - A B JOSHI — 318/2026

Case 318/2026 Summary: The Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate, Palit­ana acquitted the accused Rekhaben under the Gujarat Prohibition Act, 1949, Section 65(A), finding the prosecution failed to prove its case beyond reasonable doubt. The court noted critical evidentiary gaps: the panchnama (seizure record) lacked substantiation from independent witnesses, the FSL report on the seized substance was absent from court records, and the panch witnesses' testimony did not corroborate the prosecution's allegations. Applying established precedent that panch witnesses who fail to support the prosecution's case cannot be relied upon, the court ruled the prosecution did not discharge its burden of proof and acquitted the accused while disposing of the seized contraband according to law. This case analysis is maintained by casestatus.in based on publicly available court records.